# Lucas Estevan Soares

Lucas Estevan Soares (born 24 July 1990) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor and musician.
He is active in the area of independent cinema, both in Brazil and abroad, and is known for the films Independent Roads (2012) and Neon Heart (2023).

## Early life

Lucas Estevan Soares was born in Curitiba in 1990, and spent his childhood and adolescence in Boqueirão, one of the largest neighborhoods of the capital of Paraná. In 2007 he began his acting career, joined the theater company Teatratividade and acted in several theater shows in Brazil.

## Career

Soares moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2009 and entered the Filmmaking Program at Estácio de Sá University. The following year he directed and scripted his first films: Kabbalah, an experimental mid-length, and the short films Absence of Us and Terminal 2 (subsequently renamed to The Airport Date). With them he participated in local festivals and international festivals such as the Arouca Film Festival 2012 in Portugal and Très Court International Film Festival 2013 in Panama and Romania.

### Independent Roads

In 2011, Soares emigrated to the United States. In Los Angeles he filmed Passports and Dreams, with actors of 10 nationalities and spoken in 5 languages, in which the director and screenwriter also participated as an actor. He received a job offer to work in the Philippines, he accepted and moved to Asia.
In Southeast Asia he directed Ends Meat (in Manila), Bojou (Nagoya, Japan) and the documentary From a New Fernando to Brazil (Phi Phi Islands, Thailand). In Oceania (Melbourne), he filmed Allegories of Us, in which he is the main lead actor.
In Europe, Soares was cast in the film Special Delivery, shot in Rome, Italy, by the director Andrea Traina. For his performance he won the award for "Best Short Film Actor" at the Premio Nazionale Musa D'Argento, held in Sicily in 2016.
Lucas Estevan Soares gathered the works Absence of Us, The Airport Date, Passports and Dreams, Ends Meat, Bojou, From a New Fernando to Brazil and Allegories of Us and released a new product, entitled Independent Roads. Between 2012 and 2013 he traveled to countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America showing his films and sharing his ideas and experiences regarding independent cinema in various exhibitions and festivals such as the 56th Café Com Filmes (CCFilmes 2012), in Portugal, the 10th Oberá en Cortos Film Festival, in Argentina, and the 12th Mostra do Filme Livre (MFL 2013), in Brazil.

### International House of Cinema

In October 2012, Soares founded in Curitiba the film production company International House of Cinema (IHC). He began producing commercial videos and collaborating with local musicians.
He married Rhaissa Gonçalves in 2014, who became his partner in IHC and also shares with Soares the function of film producer.
Two years later IHC launched the short film Special Delivery, which earned Soares the award for "Best Short Film Actor" at the Premio Nazionale Musa D'Argento 2016, and the documentary Café em Leves Devaneios.
In 2017 they installed in Miami the second HQ of IHC and released two short films directed by Soares in 2011: Twisted Lines, filmed in New York City, and Portraits in the Water, shot in Singapore. In 2021 IHC created a film distribution company to mainly market its own productions.

### Neon Heart

The repercussion of the music video "# Boquera", released in 2018, motivated the beginning of work on an idea that emerged in 2014, the production of a feature film with a singing telegram service car in the center of the plot and the Boqueirão neighborhood as a background.
The film, funded with resources from IHC (without support from public and tax incentive programs) in guerrilla filmmaking style, was recorded in late 2019, with post-production taking place the following year, already during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, Soares' first feature, who in addition to directing, scripting and acting also composed and participated in the production of the film and the soundtrack, toured the national and international circuit of film festivals, being well received by general critics (including being called in Cannes "great example of the new Brazilian popular cinema") and awarded in Houston, Moscow and Brazil. Neon Heart made its debut on the Brazilian commercial circuit on 9 March 2023.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Language | Role | Type |
| 2010 | Kabbalah | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter | Featurette |
| 2012 | Absence of Us | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter | Short film |
| 2012 | The Airport Date (original title: Terminal 2) | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter | Short film |
| 2012 | Passports and Dreams | English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish | Film Director, screenwriter, actor | Short film |
| 2012 | Ends Meat | Tagalog, English | Film Director, screenwriter | Short film |
| 2012 | Bojou | Japanese | Film Director, screenwriter | Short film |
| 2012 | From a New Fernando to Brazil | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter | Documentary |
| 2012 | Allegories of Us | English | Film Director, screenwriter, actor | Short film |
| 2012 | Independent Roads | Portuguese, English, German, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog | Film Director, screenwriter, actor | Featurette |
| 2016 | Special Delivery | Italian | Actor | Short film |
| 2016 | Café em Leves Devaneios | Portuguese | Film Director | Documentary |
| 2017 | Twisted Lines | English | Film Director, screenwriter | Short film |
| 2017 | Portraits in the Water | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter, actor | Short film |
| 2023 | Neon Heart | Portuguese | Film Director, screenwriter, actor | Feature film |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2016 | Premio Nazionale Musa D’Argento 2016 | Best Short Film Actor | Special Delivery | Won |
| 2022 | 55$^o$ WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival | Remi Trophy (Special Jury Award) | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 24$^o$ RiverRun International Film Festival | RiverRun Audience Award | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 19$^o$ Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (BAFF) | Best Feature Film | Neon Heart | Semi-finalist |
| 2022 | 11$^o$ Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (CBFF) | Feature Film | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival | | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 44$^o$ Moscow International Film Festival | Best Foreign Language Feature | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Feature Film | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Film Director | Lucas Estevan Soares | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Screenwriter | Lucas Estevan Soares | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Actor | Lucas Estevan Soares | Nominated |
| 2022 | 31$^o$ Cinequest Film & VR Festival | Drama | Neon Heart | Finalist |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ Nòt Film Fest | Shooting Star Features | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 12$^o$ Balneário Camboriú International Film Festival (BCIFF) | Features – Bilo Prize | Neon Heart | Nominated |