Amarela is the third part of Saito’s trilogy of short films
Los Angeles, CA (August 23, 2025). Amarela is the third part of Saito’s trilogy of short films. The trilogy is exploring his Japanese ancestry through an authorial and intimate lens. This quest for identity began in 2019 with the short film “Kokoro to Kokoro.” Which addressed the bonds of friendship between his paternal grandmother and her Japanese best friend.
The film was awarded Best Short Documentary at the Roma Short Film Festival and has been screened at major festivals such as the 40th International Festival of Uruguay, the 24th International Festival of Rio de Janeiro, the Tokyo International Film Festival (where it received an Honorable Mention), the 14th Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival, and the International Atlantic Film Showcase.
The trilogy continued with “Wind of Gold,” a work whose main character is his maternal grandmother, Haruko Hirata, who, at 94 years old, finds herself on the threshold of existence. The filmmaker explores the relationship between generations in an essay on death and the intimate coexistence of the matriarch with her daughter Sumiko, her caregiver for 18 years. The short is going through festival run, premiered in April of this year at the historic 46th Moscow International Film Festival and will have its European premiere at the 31st Sheffield DocFest in June 2024.
Synopsis: São Paulo, July 1998. On the day of the World Cup final between Brazil and France, 14-year-old Erika Oguihara (Melissa Uehara), a Japanese-Brazilian teenager who rejects her family’s traditions, is eager to celebrate a world title for her country. Amidst the tension that builds during the match, Erika experiences a violence that seems invisible and plunges into a painful sea of emotions.
The Official Trailer for Amarela Directed by André Hayato Saito
About André Hayato Saito
Too Japanese to be Brazilian; too Brazilian to be Japanese. The search for an identity that fits into this sort of interplace became the most solid part of who I am. At the same time, Erika reminds me of my teenage self: lost in the traditions of her own home; strangely a foreigner to her own country.
Amarela is an open scar of the Japanese-Brazilian people living in the country with the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, but speaks to the heart of those who were never allowed to belong. After all, who are we, the children of global diasporas?
Erika’s story is an unsettling dance between her roots and her reality. Inhabiting an invisible border between two cultures, she faces the silent pressures of her parents, the bullying of her friends, and the sexism that permeates both cultures. Erika is a dormant volcano. When she finally reacts, she unveils a secret and violent desire that most Japanese-Brazilians once dreamt of Amarela conveys a cinematic instrument of memory and identity: a painful outburst of underlying traumas across immigration timelines. Although we are only a part of a racist imagination as eternal outsiders, here we are.
About HollyShort Film Festival
An Oscar®-Qualifying short film festival based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 2005, HollyShorts has grown into a premier platform for independent filmmakers worldwide. As an Academy Awards-qualifying festival in four categories, HollyShorts presents a diverse selection of innovative short films across various genres.
About BitPix
Bitpix is a streaming service for shorts films, accessible on over 1000 devices including iOS devices, Android devices, MACs, PCs, streaming media boxes such as Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Bitpix was created by filmmakers for filmmakers. Born and bread out of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is your home to watch the best short films from around the world—every day. Bitpix News is your home for the latest news, reviews, and updates about these shorts featured on the platform.
About 88th Street Productions
HSFF provides 88th Street Productions access to over 40,000 short films and filmmakers in all genres, The Company has long standing relationships with these filmmakers, talent and entertainment industry executives. 88th Street is able to activate these relationships to source to access projects in all genres. Alta Global Media provides access to established filmmakers, executives and talent agencies.
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