HELENA LINS
JOURNALIST
Hi!
I’m Helena Lins, a Portuguese-born Bulgarian-Brazilian journalist. For more than ten years, I’ve lived in seven countries and travelled to several more, reporting on conflict, human rights and global affairs.
I became part of the starting team of CNN Portugal, where I’ve covered international news stories including the war in Ukraine – reporting live both from Ukraine and Russia – war in Gaza, post-election unrest and violence in Mozambique, among others. I’ve also developed investigations and special features, such as Foreign agents: the journalists persecuted by Moscow working from exile awarded with Honourable Mention from the UNESCO Human Rights and Integration Journalism Award.
I’m the creative producer of the documentary Até que o porno nos separe (Until porn do us part), awarded Best Documentary from the Portuguese Cinema Academy in 2020.
Previously, I collaborated with Al Jazeera, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana and travel magazine Volta ao Mundo. I produced the documentary series Príncipes do Nada — covering refugees in Greece, Bangladesh, Colombia, Lebanon, and Uganda (season 5), and social issues worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal (season 6) — as well as Atelier d’Arquitetura, a series about Portuguese contemporary architecture, both for the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP.
Besides, I’ve coordinated the production of 360 virtual reality films showcasing how the European Union responds to natural and man-made disasters for the multimedia exhibition EU Saves Lives and I’ve documented development projects in Senegal.
As a rookie, I crossed the ocean to interview the Former President of Uruguay, José Mujica, and worked as a still photographer in the film Otra Historia del Mundo (Another Story of the World). I also covered daily political, economic, and social news as a multimedia journalism intern at the Catalan News Agency in Barcelona, where I photographed the 1.8-million-person pro-independence demonstration on the National Day of Catalonia.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies from Cardiff University, and a semester abroad studying international relations and communication at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, I’m fluent in Portuguese, Bulgarian, English and Spanish and I get by in French, Russian and Turkish.
I’m experienced in creative and field production, long and short-form writing, video and editing, and live reporting for TV and digital. Moved by challenges and curiosity, I combine investigative reporting, cross-media and human-centered stories to connect with audiences and shed light on complex matters.