In André Hayato Saito’s Amarela, Erica (Melissa Uehara) is very invested in the 1998 World Cup match between Brazil and France but is crushed by how others treat her that only underscore how she doesn’t always feel like she fits in.
Awards Buzz spoke with Saito about how his own youth as a Japanese-Brazilian teenager shaped his desire to make this film:
“Amarela was born from a very personal scar. When I was a 14-year-old, it was 1998. So it’s the age of the protagonist and when the story happens. And I always felt in this in-between place where I feel too Japanese to be Brazilian, too Brazilian to be Japanese. So, it was always weird when I was young, and until now actually, to be affirmed always as a non-Brazilian, as a foreigner, to be seen as exotic, not normal, weird. So, this place of displacement, I feel that it was the core of the story. It’s the story of millions of people, some children of diasporas, of immigrants. Even people who don’t feel that they belong. It’s a story about belonging, identity, and the search for your place in the world.”
He spoke about the search for their lead actress:
“When I was looking with the casting producer, she suggested, what about this young girl? She is thirteen. She had never acted. She’s a singer, actually, and she has a beauty different from the standards. I found it amazing. Let’s put another layer of oppression, this body contained with a lot of emotions, putting this layer of having a nonstandard beauty. When I saw a video of her just singing, I was like, definitely it’s her. It was a lot about intuition and persistence of finding younger Erica.”
Watch the video above to hear about how different people across the globe have felt that the film spoke to them and how it’s also a proof of concept for a feature that he’s excited to be working on and to start shooting soon.
Amarela is on the Oscar shortlist for Best Live Action Short and is available to stream on Kanopy.
