Bengell appeared in numerous international productions, including an extended period during the mid-1960s co-starring in Italian productions, in which she was usually cast as the protagonist's romantic interest. She is possibly best known for starring with
Alberto Sordi in
Alberto Lattuada's
Mafioso (1962) and in
Sergio Corbucci's
The Hellbenders (1967). She had a major role as a prostitute in
Anselmo Duarte's
Keeper of Promises (1962), a Brazilian drama that was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Foreign Language Film in 1963 and won the
Golden Palm at
Cannes Film Festival in 1962. Earlier that same year, she caused major controversy after appearing nude in a scene of the
Ruy Guerra film
Os Cafajestes. In 1987, she directed her first film,
Eternamente Pagu, a biography of
Patrícia Galvão. In 1996, she directed an adaptation of
José de Alencar's novel
The Guarani, also titled
The Guarani. ==Filmography==