ANDRÉ HAYATO SAITO

39, japanese-brazilian, film director/screenwriter

After graduating in Social Communication, Saito studied cinema in Buenos Aires.

In 2011, together with his duo Cesar, he became a director at Movie&Art and lectured as a teacher at ELCV.

In 2012, they released a book and a short film called "THOMÁS TRISTONHO", selected for 13 festivals around the globe.

In 2013/2017, at ParanoidBR, they directed advertising and content, such as the short film "LUZ",

which was selected for the 29th Festival Cinélatino in Toulouse.

In 2018/2019, the duo became in-house directors at Stink Films, where they worked on two branded content short films

exploring two controversial themes: the famous "Tank Man" picture, and the massive illegal fires in the Amazon forest.

Both were censored by local governments.

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In 2020, the duo became partners at MyMama Entertainment. In 2021, they ministered classes at Beijing Film Academy.

In the same year, their short film "IN SILENCE" was selected by the public fund PROAC 2021 Production.

Shot in 16mm, it'll be premiered in 2023.

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In addition to his career as a duo, Saito is developing his first fiction feature film entitled "YELLOW CHRYSANTHEMUM",

which was selected for several labs and market events such as: Ontario Creates (IFF) 2022, TIFF Filmmakers Lab 2021,

Shanghai Film Market 2021, Florianopolis Audiovisual Mercosul (FAM) 2021, Hubert Bals Fund 2020 shortlist,

Cinemart 2021 shortlist and was a semifinalist at FRAPA 2021, a prestigious screenplay contest in Brazil.

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In 2022, Saito released a short fiction-documentary called "KOKORO TO KOKORO",

selected for the 40th Uruguay Intl Film Festival, 14th Rio de Janeiro Intl Film Festival,

Roma Short Film Festival (best short documentary) and Tokyo Intl Short Film Festival (honorable mention).

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He was also selected to join the Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires and Interaction: Doc Workshop, in Serbia,

and he was invited to be one of the creative mentors of the "Amplifica Cine" program,

which empowers 10 promising young filmmakers from Sao Paulo outskirts. In 2023, he was selected for the Playlab's Apichatpong immersion, a 10-day experience in the middle of the forest of Yucatan, Mexico, guided by Apichatpong himself.

Saito's second solo work, "VENTO DOURADO", a short docufiction, is about to be premiered at the 46th Moscow International Film Festival, while"AMARELA", another short fiction, is now in the last touch ups of post production. 

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