August 2026 – Amarela has won the 25th Grande Otelo Awards, presented by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema, taking home the prize for Best Live-Action Short Film. The awards ceremony took place this week at the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro. Amarela is currently available on Globoplay.
Written and directed by André Hayato Saito, starring Melissa Uehara in her screen debut at age 14, and produced by Mayra Faour Auad, Gabrielle Auad, and Ilda Santiago of MyMama Entertainment, the film also won the Canal Brasil Short Film Award at the Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival. It has screened at more than 100 film festivals across 35 countries and was shortlisted for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Among the world’s most prestigious film events where Amarela has been showcased is the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Short Film Palme d’Or. It also won Best Fiction Short at the Havana Film Festival, Best Drama Short at the Chicago Southland International Film Festival, Best Short Film at the Hollywood Shortsfest, and the Grand Prix at France’s Festival Tous Courts. The film was also officially selected for the HollyShorts Film Festival (U.S.) and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France).
Director and writer André Hayato Saito says Amarela is deeply autobiographical:
“The film grew out of a very personal concern. I grew up as a Japanese-Brazilian boy in São Paulo, in a country that often sees us as foreigners, even when it is the only home we’ve ever known. The idea came from wanting to revisit a very Brazilian moment—the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final—and use it to reveal a quiet but deeply significant experience: the impact of racism on the formation of a teenage girl’s identity.”
Saito describes seeing Amarela travel the world and win the Grande Otelo Award as an act of healing:
“Healing for us, for our families, for our ancestors, and above all, for future generations, who will be able to see themselves reflected on screen.”
The film’s producers Mayra Faour Auad, Gabrielle Auad, and Ilda Santiago celebrated the recognition from the Brazilian Academy of Cinema, saying that amplifying André Hayato Saito’s work also amplifies an important reflection on identity, belonging, and ancestry.
“This recognition is deeply moving because it is the result of a relationship built over time through trust and dedication. Working with Saito means sharing a rare creative process guided by sensitivity, generosity, and profound mutual respect,” said Mayra, producer and founder of MyMama Entertainment.
Amarela is a MyMama Entertainment production in association with Fernanda Takai, Madre, and Sato Company. Marking the screen debut of Japanese-Brazilian actress Melissa Uehara, the film is produced by Mayra Faour Auad, Gabrielle Auad, and Ilda Santiago, co-produced by André Hayato Saito and Tati Wan, with executive production by João da Terra.
Executive producers include Rodrigo Pasianotto, Alejandro Saevich, Stefan Kozak, Ana Kozak, and Jacqueline Sato, while Nelson Sato and Fernando Camargo serve as associate producers. Hélcio “Alemão” Nagamine is the director of photography; Luana Kawamura Demange is production designer; Caroline Leone edited the film; casting was handled by Gy Ogata; costumes by Yuri Kobayashi; and the original score was composed by Dudu Tsuda and Lilian Nakahodo.
Short Film Trilogy and Upcoming Feature
Amarela is the third installment in the short film trilogy developed by MyMama Entertainment and André Hayato Saito, exploring the filmmaker’s Japanese heritage through an intimate and deeply personal perspective.
The journey began with Kokoro to Kokoro, a documentary short about the friendship between Saito’s paternal grandmother and her lifelong Japanese friend. The film won Best Documentary Short at the Rome Short Film Festival, received an Honorable Mention at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival, and competed for the Redentor Award in the Premiere Brasil section of the Rio Film Festival.
The trilogy continued with Vento Dourado (Golden Wind), centered on Saito’s maternal grandmother, Haruko Hirata, who at age 94 stood at the threshold between life and death. The documentary screened at major festivals including Sheffield DocFest, the Moscow International Film Festival, the Rio Film Festival, and Kinoforum, and received a Grande Otelo Award nomination for Best Documentary Short.
The trilogy concludes with Amarela, now the winner of the 2026 Grande Otelo Award. Set in São Paulo in July 1998, on the day of Brazil’s World Cup final against France, the film follows 14-year-old Erika Oguihara (Melissa Uehara), a Japanese-Brazilian teenager who rejects her family’s traditions while eagerly awaiting Brazil’s victory. As tension builds throughout the match, Erika experiences acts of violence that seem invisible to those around her, plunging into a painful emotional journey.
Produced by a predominantly Brazilian crew of Asian descent, Amarela also serves as the foundation for Saito’s first feature film, Yellow Chrysanthemum (Crisântemo Amarelo), produced by MyMama Entertainment in co-production with One Two Films (Germany), Loaded Films (Japan), and Blue Monday (France).
The feature project was selected for the Torino Feature Lab 2024, where it received the Production Award, and also participated in the TIFF Filmmaker Lab at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has secured a pre-license from ZDF/ARTE, private investment from Japan, and has been shortlisted for two international funds and one Brazilian fund as it prepares to move into production.
