Brazilian actor, Wagner Moura, the star of the film, Secret Agent, for which he is widely tipped to win an Oscar, is to star in a play at the Edinburgh International Festival in summer 2026.
Moura won a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture for his portrayal in the much-lauded film, which won four Cannes Film Festival Awards (including one for Moura as Best Actor), an Independent Spirit Award, five Brazilian Academy Film Awards, has four nominations for the Oscars which will be announced on 15 March, an Annie and a Critics’ Choice Award for Moura. An Annie award is made by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, and have been presented each year since 1972 to recognise excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. In total the film has now received more than 75 awards internationally.
The film had its Netflix premier in Brazil on 7 March and has been in the top ten at the box office for four months. More than 2.5 million audience members have seen the film at Brazilian cinemas.
Director, Kleber Mendonça Filho, said: “After four months in Brazilian theaters, the film’s launch on Netflix is an opportunity for our story to reach new audiences and to be revisited by many others who were deeply moved by it.
“It feels like The Secret Agent is coming to life all over again on new screens, now with extraordinary image and sound quality for home viewing.”
The film was produced by CinemaScópio, in co-production with France (MK2), Germany (One Two Films), the Netherlands (Lemming) and Netflix Brazil. Set in late-70s Brazil amidst the country’s military dictatorship, the film follows Marcelo, a lone traveller on his way home to the city of Recife in the hopes of reconnecting with his young son, Fernando, and finding safe passage out of the country for both of them.
The film had its premiere at Cannes Film Festival last year.
When he comes to Edinburgh in August Moura will take to the stage at The Royal Lyceum Theatre in A Trial – After an Enemy of the People. This is a first-time theatrical collaboration between the Brazilian actor and award-winning Brazilian director, Christiane Jatahy.
Roy Luxford, Creative Director at the Edinburgh International Festival, said: “Wagner Moura has picked up ask the best actor awards and we are all holding our breath for him at the Oscar ceremony.”
The play is a modern-day courtroom continuation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic.
A Trial also marks the first chapter in a historic three-year commissioning collaboration between Edinburgh International Festival, Holland Festival and Festival d’Avignon.
The programme for the Edinburgh International Festival 2026 was published this week with 147 performances, including five world premieres and eight works commissioned by the festival. The King’s Theatre will reopen as a Festival venue following the multi-million pound refurbishment to ensure that it is a fully accessible theatre.
