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​Ary Zara is a transgender writer and director, who also works as a stage performer and cultural provoker. He studied cinema at Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon and University of Texas in Austin.

 

AN AVOCADO PIT, his debut short film, has earned a spot on the shortlist of the 96th Academy Awards® (Oscars®) and Elliot Page has become its Executive Producer. This achievement comes after the short film has garnered 90+ selections and 20+ awards in festivals such as: Clermont-Ferrand, Indie Lisboa, AFI FEST, Brest, BFI, Guadalajara and Outfest. 

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Ary is developing his first feature, SUN IN SATURN. He took part in Torino Script Lab 2023 where he won CNC Prize for his pitch and Dot.on.the.map 2024 where he won Best Debut Project. SUN IN SATURN was also selected for EAVE in 2024. Ary is in pre-production of his second short TOKOS, developed at Midpoint Institute, pitched at WEMW 2024, to be completed in 2025. This was the project chosen by Portugal to be pitched at Euro Connection in Clermont-Ferrand 2025.

Ary is one of the directors selected for the Program La Factory des Cinéastes – Cannes Ceára - under the umbrella of Directors’ Fortnight 2025

Ary always tries to contribute actively to the cinema panorama, he was a jury member for Pitch ME (a program in collaboration with the Portuguese Film Academy and Netflix), and also for Indie Lisboa Film Festival 2023 in the International short films section. He has also participated as a speaker for  Maajara Film School in Iran, and My Film Ideology panel - Young Director Support Project (YDSP) Liangjie Culture Media in Beijing.
Ary started to teach cinema basis, as a guest director, for Lisbon Creative Studio.

He is a member of the Portuguese Cinema Academy and was recently invited to join the European Film Academy.

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In the field of activism, in 2019, Ary co-created a YouTube channel with Isaac dos Santos to help families and young people understand and navigate gender transition. This channel, later became one of the tools shared by the Ministry of Public Education, for public schools.

Ary has been invited to discuss gender identity issues by the Portuguese Society of Clinical Sexology, BNP Paribas, Teleperformance, RTP Portuguese National Broadcaster, several ONG's, universities, high schools and podcasts.

He created DEI content for Microsoft's internal communications and was a speaker and keynoter at the annual Microsoft Bizz Pride twice.

Ary was a consultant for Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege game, in the development of the trans player "Shark".

He was one of the activists of LEVl'S 2021 Pride Campaign “Beauty of Becoming”.

There is also a documentary about his transition called "Ary", by Daniela Guerra, available on Filmin and Kinoscope platforms.

 

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From 2021 to 2024, Ary was the Creative Director of Queer Art Lab - a platform to support emerging LGBTQI+ artists, by creating several initiatives and projects. This platform currently hosted year-round residencies, art markets, live concerts, workshops, exhibitions, cinema talks, art festivals, live drawing sessions with trans models, and inclusive reading sessions for children. Hundreds of artists have benefited from Ary's secured collaborations and partnerships, resulting in works such as a published inclusive children's book (selected for the National Reading Program)  murals painted throughout Lisbon, stage pieces premiered, video art pieces awarded, and more.

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Ary Zara also works as member of BRABA collective since 2021 - a platform for supporting, fostering and financing creative initiatives led by trans people, directed by Gaya de Medeiros. With Gaya, he co-creates ATLAS OF THE MOUTH considered as “one of the best plays of 2021” in Portugal. This play was chosen to represent the country at the European Festival AEROWAVES. After this, the piece has been shown more than 40 times, around 13 countries with more to come. Ary and Gaya de Medeiros are premiering a new creation “RUN, Baby” in June 2025, funded by the grant Amélia Rey Colaço. This piece is another branch of the provocation of Ary’s second short film TOKOS, an idea nurtured and thought through with Gaya.