Portuguese actor and filmmaker
Edgar Morais (born 25 June 1989) is a Portuguese actor, film director, screenwriter, and film editor. Edgar won the award for Best Actor at Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in Albania's 95th Academy Awards submission "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" (2022), as well as rave reviews from the international press such as "Variety" and "Screen International". His directorial works include "Heatstroke" and the award-winning "We Won't Forget".
Personal life.
Morais was born in Portugal, to an antique restorer mother and a contractor father. He graduated in acting from Portugal's EPTC. Edgar was also a student of Ivana Chubbuck in LA and Susan Batson in NYC. He divides his time between the USA and Portugal.
Film acting career.
Morais made his film acting debut in 2007's "From Now On" (winner of the Audience Award at Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival), directed by Locarno Film Festival alumna Catarina Ruivo.
Edgar has appeared in multiple projects since including the NBC series "CTRL", directed by Robert Kirbyson, in Q'orianka Kilcher's directional debut short-film, "Saudade", in "Chasing Eagle Rock" directed by Erick Avari, alongside Beth Behrs and Michael Welch, in "The Monogamy Experiment" directed by Amy Rider alongside Shailene Woodley and in "Oh Gallow Lay" directed by Julian Wayser which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2015 in the Horizons section.
Edgar Morais can also be seen in "Marfa Girl 2", directed by Larry Clark, 2022's "Restos do Vento" ("Remains of the Wind") directed by Tiago Guedes (Cannes Film Festival official selection) and in 2023's "Lovely, Dark and Deep" directed by Teresa Sutherland (Fantasia Film Festival).
In 2023 Edgar Morais starred in "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" which had its world premiere in competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and went on to screen at many festivals worldwide including 2023's Gothenburg Film Festival and Thessaloniki Film Festival where it won the Fischer Audience Award.
Morais portrayed the controversial British artist Simeon Solomon in 2024's "The Worst Man In London" directed by Rodrigo Areias and produced by Paulo Branco which screened as an official selection in the Big Screen Competition at 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam with a cast that also includes Albano Jerónimo, Edward Ashley, Simon Paisley Day, Scott Coffey and Carmen Chaplin.
His upcoming acting projects include Victoria Mahoney's "Chalk" alongside Shiloh Fernandez and Mirrah Folks and João Salgado's "Super Past Car".
Directing career.
After directing multiple music videos for bands such as Grammy Awards nominated Shiny Toy Guns and MOTHXR, 2019's "Heatstroke" starring Leah Pipes, Michael Welch and Paul James Jordan marked Edgar's narrative directorial debut. The short film had its world premiere in competition at IndieLisboa International Film Festival on May 4, 2019. "Heatstroke" went on to screen in competition at the European Film Award (EFA), Academy Award and BAFTA-qualifying festival PÖFF Shorts - Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, FEST New Directors New Films Festival and Method Fest Independent Film Festival among others. The film won CinEuphoria Awards for "Best Screenplay" and "Top Short Film of the Year" and was subsequently broadcast nationally on RTP.
On June 25, 2021, "We Won't Forget", the short film directed by Edgar Morais and Luke Eberl, had its world premiere in competition at the Academy Award, BAFTA and Goya-qualifying Palm Springs ShortFest. The film was co-written by the directors and Whitney Able, who stars in the film as a woman whose frustrations boil to the surface while hosting a party for her friends, culminating in a public freakout that turns into collective hysteria. Edgar Morais also acts in the film alongside John Patrick Amedori, Paul James, Davida Williams and Caitlyn Folley, among others. The film screened in competition at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Tirana International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, Rooftop Films and IndieLisboa International Film Festival, among many others and was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick and Short of the Week
"We Won't Forget" won the Grand Jury Prize, as well as the award for Best Editing at Castrovillari Film Festival and the Jury's Honorable Mention at FEST New Directors New Films Festival. and was nominated for Best Fiction Short Film at the 2022 Sophia Awards (Portuguese Academy Award).
Edgar is currently in production on his feature film directorial debut, the USA/Portugal production "You Above All", which he also wrote and stars in, co-directing with Luke Eberl.
Photography work.
Edgar is also a photographer. His photography exhibition "It Lasts Forever", a selection of moments, portraits, and landscapes spanning the years 2012-2023, from Portugal, France, Albania and the USA, had its inaugural opening at Casa Do Comum in Lisbon, Portugal in March 2024.
For its second public exhibition that took place in Espinho, Portugal, in June and July 2024 at FEST New Directors New Films Festival and expanding on its theme "private made public" the artist recreated a public toilet inside a dark room that was strategically built to be hidden from view and security cameras, inviting the guests to use the space and contribute to its condition however they saw fit, revealing to the public the room's growing worsening degradation state over the course of the exhibit as people glued gum to the walls, wrote offensive writings on the walls, spat and left used condoms, cigarette butts, and soiled tissues in the space.
The exhibit was critically praised, with Diário de Notícias writing: "“A notable exhibit. An experience about intimacy, and a wild breath of youth. A perspective that evokes and challenges the spirit of Nan Goldin as well as a naked exploration of California’s culture.""
Accolades.
In 2023 Edgar Morais was awarded with the Best Actor Award at Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" where he plays the deaf-mute "Gezim" and has been lauded by the international press including Variety (magazine) and Screen International as "one of the best performances of the year". The film was Albania's official submission to The Oscars.
Edgar won the Grand Jury Prize and the award for Best Editing at Castrovillari Film Festival; the Honorable Mention at FEST New Directors New Films Festival and was nominated for a Portuguese Academy Award (Sophia) for his internationally acclaimed short film "We Won't Forget" which he wrote and directed.
In 2024, Edgar served on the jury for the fiction feature and short film Gold and Silver Lynx sections of FEST New Directors New Films Festival alongside director Pilar Palomero. He was also an invited featured speaker at the event alongside Kenneth Lonergan, Melissa Leo, and Nadine Labaki. He spoke on the panel "Directing Actors: Techniques and Challenges" at the Directors Hub. He has also served on the jury for other festivals such as Castrovillari Film Festival, Cinalfama Lisbon Film Festival, and Prémios Curtas.
In 2019 Edgar was selected to take part in "Passaporte", an initiative created by the Portuguese Academy of Cinema ("Academia Portuguesa de Cinema")
Theater career.
Morais made his stage debut in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" at the Mirita Casimiro Theater in Lisbon in 2006. He then appeared in many theater productions including Moliere's "A Rehearsal at Versailles", Brian Friel's "Lovers", Jean Genet's "Deathwatch", Arnold Wesker's "The Kitchen" and in the Golden Globes (Portugal) winning adaptation of William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", directed by Luís Miguel Cintra, at the Teatro São Luiz in Lisbon.
In 2024 Edgar starred in Craig Viveiros' stage adaptation of Lulu Raczka's play "Nothing" at ZDB Marvila alongside Samuel Adewunmi.
References.
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