Inara Chayamiti is a Japanese-Brazilian documentary filmmaker based in Portugal who has been telling nonfiction stories for 15 years. In her works, people are protagonists of their own narratives.
Some of them are: Yzalú - Rap, Feminism and Blackness (screened by In-Edit Brazil, Curta Kinoforum, MIMO and five other festivals, finalist at the City Hall of Sao Paulo’s competition Semana Paulistana do Curta-Metragem, CineB Solar Award), Raam (Audience Award at SHIFT Film Festival/CineSud), and Volta na Quadra, (NETLABTV Award and sponsored by Folha de S. Paulo).
She was a fellow at the Logan Nonfiction Program with the feature-length documentary Where the Waves Break, which was a finalist at the Sundance Documentary Fund and the Berlinale Talents.
Through her production company, she worked for Greenpeace, Google, Marie Claire, C&A Foundation, GOL, among others. During two seasons, Inara was part of the international crew for Legends Rising, a Riot Games’ documentary series.
She worked as a video journalist at Folha de S. Paulo, the largest Brazilian newspaper, and at the publishing companies Globo and Abril.
She received her degree in Journalism from the State University of Londrina, was part of the training program Abril Journalism Course and of the script lab NETLABTV. She has a specialized degree in cinema from Anhembi Morumbi University (Sao Paulo) and studied documentary filmmaking at UnionDocs (New York). Moreover she also did courses focused on cinematography, impact documentary, script writing and entrepreneurship.
Where the Waves Break
wherethewavesbreak.com
As in the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with gold, the documentary filmmaker Inara Chayamiti searches for her fragmented identity by gluing together pieces of her family story, marked by two diasporas between opposite sides of the world: Brazil and Japan.
- DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon
- Pre-launch impact campaign in 5 Brazilian cities, with 9 special screenings followed by debates with 23 renowned guests in museums, cultural, academic and community spaces
- The film's impact results were presented by João Martinho at the American Evaluation Association annual conference dedicated to "The Power of Story"
- Selected by the Logan Nonfiction Program
- Finalist at the Sundance Documentary Fund
- Finalist at the Berlinale Talents Doc Station
Raam
The experimental collaborative short is a cinematographic window in 9x16 which connects five self-isolated perspectives of the coronavirus pandemic portrayed by women of the filmmaker’s family from their windows in the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Brazil and Japan.
- Audience Award at the SHIFT Film Festival, organised by the Dutch film hub CineSud
- Art collection Roaring 2020s, organized by VOX-POP/University of Amsterdam (UvA)
Legends Rising (Riot Games)
The documentary series goes beyond the game and explores the inspirations, fears, and inner workings of some of the world's most revered professional League of Legends players.
- Two seasons with international crews from the USA, Chile, France and UK
- More than 5 million views for all the episodes
Yzalú - Rap, Feminism and Blackness
The short shows Yzalú's journey as a rapper while being a physically disabled black woman from the outskirts of Sao Paulo discovering feminism and fighting racism through her music - with emphasis on the song "Mulheres Negras”, an anthem for many.
- Selected by eight festivals between 2018 and 2019, among them: in-Edit Brazil, São Paulo International Short Film Festival (Curta Kinoforum), MIMO Festival and the french festival FIFH (Festival International Du Film Sur Le Handicap)
- Non-theatrical screenings with an audience of about 900 people, and debates with the protagonist
- Awarded by CineB Solar, an itinerant circuit that takes cinema to communities and universities in São Paulo
- One of the 16 best productions made between 2017 and 2018 by “Semana Paulistana do Curta-Metragem”, a competition of the City Hall of São Paulo
- Art show Decolonizing Realities, organized by YOUth ACT at Cinetol in Amsterdam
Volta na Quadra
The web series explores the city of Sao Paulo through the microcosm of its residents, in an unpretentious and fun ride, with a universe on each block.
- Audience Award at the script contest and lab NETLABTV
- Sponsored by Folha de S. Paulo
- Selected by Telas Festival