ANDRÉ HAYATO SAITO
41, japanese-brazilian, film director/screenwriter
André Hayato Saito is a Japanese-Brazilian screenwriter and director whose work explores identity, belonging, ancestry and the cycles of life and death.
In recent years, Saito has developed a trilogy of short films rooted in his Japanese-Brazilian heritage. The first, “KOKORO TO KOKORO”, a documentary, was selected for the 40th Uruguay Int’l Film Festival, 24th Rio de Janeiro Int’l Film Festival, Roma Short Film Festival (Best Short Documentary) and Tokyo Int’l Short Film Festival (Honorable Mention).
The second, “WIND OF GOLD”, a docufiction, was selected for the 46th Moscow Int’l Film Festival, 31st Sheffield DocFest, 20th FEST – New Directors | New Films and 35th São Paulo Int’l Short Film Festival. It was also a finalist for Best Documentary Short Film at the 24th Grande Otelo Awards.
The third one, “AMARELA”, was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards (Best Live Action Short Film), selected for the Official Short Film Competition at the 77th Festival de Cannes, 49th TIFF, 47th Clermont-Ferrand and more than 100 festivals across 35 countries. The film received the Special Coral Award for Best Short Film at the 45th Havana Film Festival, the Grand Prix at the 42nd Festival Tous Courts and the 25th Grande Otelo Award for Best Fiction Short Film from the Brazilian Film Academy.
AMARELA was also the subject of academic research at Université de Lyon and was featured in a question on the 2025 entrance exam of UNESP, one of Brazil’s leading public universities.
These three films form the foundation for Saito’s debut feature, “YELLOW CHRYSANTHEMUM”. Currently in its final financing stage, the project has been selected for Torino FeatureLab 2024, where it received the Production Award, Cannes Focus COPRO 2024, Ontario Creates IFF 2022 and TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2021. It 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).
Saito has also been selected for Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires (Argentina), Interaction: Doc Workshop (Servia) and PlayLab’s immersion (Mexico) with Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He has taught directing at the Beijing Film Academy (China) and Escola Livre de Cinema de Santo André (Brazil), and served as a creative mentor for Amplifica Cine, a program supporting emerging filmmakers from the outskirts of São Paulo.
Alongside his film work, Saito is part of the directing duo KID BURRO, known for award-winning campaigns for global brands including Leica, Volkswagen, Instagram, Meta, Netflix and WhatsApp. The duo is currently represented by MyMama Entertainment (Brazil), Madre (USA), MadreFoca (Mexico), The Sweetshop Films (UK) and Rebolución (Spain).
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
// 25th Brazilian Academy Film Awards - Best Short Film
// 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 Brazilian Academy Film Awards - 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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