ANDRÉ HAYATO SAITO
41, japanese-brazilian, film director/screenwriter
André Hayato Saito is a Japanese-Brazilian screenwriter and director active since 2011.
In recent years, Saito has developed a short film trilogy that embraces his Japanese-Brazilian roots, delving into themes of identity, life and death cycles, and ancestry. The first one was "KOKORO TO KOKORO", a short documentary selected for the 40th Uruguay Int’l Film Festival, 24th Rio de Janeiro Int'l Film Festival, Roma Short Film Festival (Best Short Documentary), Tokyo Int’l Short Film Festival (Honorable Mention). The second, "WIND OF GOLD", a docufiction, was part of the 46th Moscow Int’l Film Festival, 31st Sheffield Doc Fest, 20th FEST – New Directors, New Films and 35th Kinoforum: São Paulo Int'l Short Film Festival. It was also a finalist for Best Short Documentary at the Grande Otelo Awards, presented by the Brazilian Film Academy.
The third one, "AMARELA", was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards (Best Live Action Short Film) and selected for the Official Short Film Competition at the 77th Festival de Cannes, 49th TIFF, 45th Habana Film Festival (Best Short Film - Premio Coral Especial), 47th Clermont-Ferrand, 42nd Festival Tous Courts (Grand Prix), among over 100 festivals across 35 countries. The film was also the subject of academic study at the Young Researchers Colloquium at Lyon University and was featured in a question on the 2025 entrance exam of UNESP, one of Brazil’s largest public universities.
All these short films will lead to his debut feature film entitled "YELLOW CHRYSANTHEMUM", which continues to explore these themes. Currently in the final funding stage, the project has been selected for several labs and markets such as Torino Feature Lab 2024 (where it won the Production Award), Cannes Focus COPRO 2024, Ontario Creates (IFF) 2022, TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2021, Shanghai Film Market 2021 and was a semifinalist at FRAPA 2021, a famous screenplay contest in Brazil. The project is an international co-production with One Two Films ('The Secret Agent' - Cannes Competition 2025), Loaded Films ('Renoir' - Cannes Competition 2025) and Blue Monday Films ('Nino' - Cannes Critics’ Week 2025).
In recent years, Saito has been selected for important labs like Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires (2022),
Interaction: Doc Workshop (2023), and PlayLab's Apichatpong Weerasethakul immersion (2023).
He has also taught directing classes at the Beijing Film Academy (China) and the Escola Livre de Cinema de
Santo André (Brazil), and was one of the creative mentors of the "Amplifica Cine" program, which empowers
10 promising young filmmakers from the Sao Paulo outskirts.
Alongside his film work, Saito is part of the directing duo 'Kid Burro', directing award-winning campaigns
for global brands such as Leica, Volkswagen, Instagram, Meta, Netflix and WhatsApp. They are currently represented by MyMama Entertainment (Brazil), Madre (Usa), MadreFoca (Mexico) and The Sweetshop Films (UK).
FILMOGRAPHY:
TBD: Yellow Chrysanthemum I feature film (final funding stage)
// Co-Producers: One Two Films (GERMANY), Blue Monday (FRANCE) and Loaded Films (JAPAN)
// Torino Feature Lab, 2024 (Production Award Winner)
// Cannes FocusCoPro, 2024
// Ontario Creates International Financing Forum 2022
// Berlinale Talents - Buenos Aires, 2022
// TIFF Filmmaker Lab, 2021
// FAM Production Lab, 2021
// SIFF - Shangai International Film Festival, 2021 - Market
// FRAPA, 2021 - Script Award - Semifinalist
// Hubert Bals, 2020 - Script Development - Shortlist
2024: AMARELA | short fiction
// 98th Academy Awards Shortlist - Live Action Short Film
// 77th Cannes Film Festival - Short Film Competition
// 49th Toronto International Film Festival - Short Film Competition
// 47th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
// 45th Habana Film Festival (CUBA): Best Short Film - Premio Coral Especial
// 42nd Festival Tous Courts (FRANCE): Grand Prix!
// 2nd phase of the UNESP (one of the biggest Brazilian Universities) Entrance Exam Citation - Vestibular 2025
// 29th Rhode Island International Film Festival (USA): Best Actress
// 22nd Alice nella Città (ITALY): Best Actress
// 45th Manaki Brothers (MACEDONIA): Best Cinematography
// 24th ABC (Brazilian Association of Cinematography) Award: Best Cinematography
// 36th Aguilar Film Festival (SPAIN): Best Feminine Performance
// 14th International Crime and Punishment (TURKEY): Best Short Film
// 16th Lobo Film Fest (BRAZIL): Honorable Mention
// 13rd Frapa Film Festival (BRAZIL): Best Scene Award
// 25th Cine a la Calle (COLOMBIA): Best International Short
// 9th Planos Film Festival (PORTUGAL): Best International Short Film + Best Actress
// 8th World London Film Festival (UK): Best Short Film
// 4th Cinalfama Lisbon IFF (PORTUGAL): Best Brazilian Short Film
// 5th Imedghassen IFF (ALGERIA): Best Screenplay
// 27th Festival Kinoarte (BRAZIL): Best Production Design
// 20th Dieciminuti Film Festival (ITALY): Best Cinematography
// 8th Festival Raíces Chivilcoy (ARGENTINA): Special Mention for Acting
// 7th Cairo International Short Film Festival (EGYPT): Best International Film
2023: Wind of Gold | short docufiction
// 46th Moscow International Film Festival
// 31st Sheffield Doc Fest 2024
// 20th FEST: New Directors New Films 2024
// 35th Kinoforum: São Paulo International Short Film Festival 2024
// 24th: Grande Otelo Film Award: Finalist Best Short Documentary
2022: In Silence | short fiction (in post-production)
// Selected by the public fund PROAC SP 2021 - Production
// 34th Rio de Janeiro Short Film Festival
2022: Kokoro to Kokoro | short documentary
// 40th Uruguay International Film Festival, 2022
// 24th Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, 2022
// Roma Short Film Festival (Best Short Documentary), 2022
// Tokyo International Short Film Festival (Honorable Mention), 2022
// 14th Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival, 2022
2021: Amanacy | branded content
// Ciclope Latino Festival, 2021
// Petropolis Film Festival, 2021
2019: The Hunt | branded content
2017: Luz | short fiction
// 29th Festival Cinélatino in Toulouse, 2017
2013: Tom Sadly | short fiction
// Heartland Film Festival (US), 2012
// Mama Film Festival, 2013 - Jury Award (Best Short Film)
// Biarritz Film Festival, 2013 - Opening night
// New York Film Festival, 2013- Best Original Storyline
// Corti da Sogni, Ravenna Film Festival and Milano Film Festival, 2013
// FEST: New Directors New Films, 2013
// Moscow International Film Festival, 2013
// 8th Brazilian Film in Scandinavia, 2013
// Chicago International Children's Festival, 2013
2011: Hélio Leites | short documentary
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