AMARELA dir by André Hayato Saito I Brazil
December 26, 2025
Amarela: A Cinematic Cry for Identity and Belonging – From Psaroloco to the Oscars®
By Koumoutsi Soultana
From the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival and the recognition at the Psaroloco International Children’s & Young People’s Film Festival to the Shortlist of the 98th Academy Awards®, André Hayato Saito’s "Amarela" is emerging as one of the most influential short films of the year. A film that transforms silence into a cry and personal memory into a universal experience.
The film transports us to 1998, the day of the World Cup final between Brazil and France. While the country vibrates with passionate patriotism, Erika Oguihara, a Japanese-Brazilian teenager, finds herself trapped in an emotional vacuum. Rejecting her family's Japanese traditions and seeking a place within the "yellow" side of Brazilian identity, Erika faces an invisible but profound violence. Through her eyes, "Amarela" (which means "Yellow") explores the "in-betweenness" — that painful point where you are not "enough" of anything for anyone, except for yourself.
The film was presented to the Greek audience in March 2025 as part of the Psaroloco International Film Festival for Children & Young People, where it won the Jury Award (ages 12+). On the occasion of the film's journey to the 98th Academy Awards® (Best Live Action Short Film Shortlist), we discuss with director André Hayato Saito about invisible violence, cultural duality, and the power of authentic representation.
André Hayato Saito
André Hayato Saito is a Japanese-Brazilian scriptwriter and director. His short films were selected by festivals like Cannes, TIFF, and others. Recently, Saito joined Torino Feature Lab and TIFF Filmmaker Lab with his debut feature film, selected by markets like OntarioCreates and FocusCoPro.
"Amarela" explores the tension of feeling neither fully Brazilian nor Japanese. How did your personal experience with cultural duality influence the creation of Erika, and how did you approach telling her story in a way that resonates both with your own history and with broader themes of non-belonging? Click to watch: [Director's Commentary on Cultural Duality]
André Hayato Saito: Amarela and Erika’s story is really inspired by my personal experience being a Japanese-Brazilian born and raised here in Brazil. When I was 14, I felt like a foreigner in my own country. I used to use soccer as a tool to belong to the Brazilian identity because people here are crazy about soccer and the World Cup.
"Inside my home, I did not fit in the Japanese traditions preserved by my family, and outside my home,
I was always affirmed as something that I don’t recognize either. It was always a weird feeling to inhabit this kind
of 'inter-place'."
I feel that it’s a contemporary issue because of global migrations and the children of diasporas forming new identities. This approach tries to be universal, talking to all the people who feel that they don’t belong. Actually, it’s a human need, and Erika is struggling to find herself.
"I felt like a foreigner in my own country."
— André Hayato Saito
Your trilogy, including “Amarela,” is deeply connected to your family’s history. How did the exploration of your ancestry shape both the narrative and visual style of the film, particularly in a fictional context?
Click to watch: [Director's Commentary on Ancestry & Visual Style]
A.H.S.: Exploring my family history was fundamental. This trilogy is not just about the past, but about how that ancestry dictates the present. Narratively, I wanted to capture the feeling of being a "foreigner in my own country."
Visually, we translated this by focusing on the subtle layers of violence and the "invisible" racism that diaspora children face. We used a predominantly Asian-Brazilian crew and cast to ensure the representation was authentic and not based on stereotypes.
"Working with a team that shares this heritage created a transformative atmosphere on set... moving away
from 'model minority' tropes towards a more complex, universal human struggle for belonging."
Set against the backdrop of Brazil’s 1998 World Cup final, a moment of national pride, how did this setting inform Erika’s emotional journey? How did Melissa Uehara’s portrayal of Erika deepen the exploration of identity?
Click to watch: [Director's Commentary on the 1998 World Cup & Erika's Journey]
A.H.S.: The 1998 World Cup final creates a backdrop of "questionable patriotism" and intense national pressure. For Erika, while the whole country is united in this "Brazilian pride," she feels more isolated than ever. Soccer was supposed to be the tool for belonging, but on that day, the social expectations become unbearable. Melissa’s portrayal was essential because she didn't just act; she channeled real, shared pain. When she read the script, she felt represented for the first time. Through her, the struggle to find oneself during such a loud event becomes a silent, powerful emotional journey that many diaspora children recognize as their own.
With your background in both documentary and fiction, how did films like “Kokoro to Kokoro” influence your approach to “Amarela”? Click to watch: [Director's Commentary on Documentary Techniques & Authentic Representation]
A.H.S.: My background in documentary taught me to look for the truth in small gestures and silence, a technique I heavily applied in "Amarela" to show Erika’s internal struggle. The most transformative element was telling our own stories, by ourselves, and not through a "white lens" or superficial stereotypes. Having a set full of people who look like you and share your heritage changed the energy of the storytelling. "It moved from being an individual vision to a collective reclamation of our identity. It made the fiction feel incredibly real."
