Inara Chayamiti is an award-winning Japanese-Brazilian documentary filmmaker and videomaker based in Braga (Portugal) who has been telling nonfiction stories for 15 years. Her works seek to encourage dialogue and to promote empathy through stories in which people are the protagonists of their own narratives.
She created short documentaries, series, video reports and campaign videos for companies and organisations such as: Greenpeace, Avaaz, GOL, Google, Folha de S. Paulo, Marie Claire, Revista AzMina, C&A Foundation, Equal Times, Storyhunter and Riot Games (two seasons of Legends Rising, with international teams in the USA, Chile, France and UK).
Among her independent works are: Where the Waves Break (2024; selected by Logan Nonfiction Program; screened at DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, Festival Guarnicê and Santos Film Fest; its impact case presented at relevant conferences in the USA and Portugal), Raam (2020; SHIFT
Film Festival Audience Award; art show by VOX-POP/University of Amsterdam); Yzalú - Rap, Feminism and Blackness (2018; CineB Solar Award, one of the best 2017-2018 productions selected by a City Hall of Sao Paulo’s competition; screened by In-Edit Brazil, Curta Kinoforum, MIMO and five other festivals) and Volta na Quadra (2015; NETLABTV Award; sponsored by Folha de S. Paulo).
As a videojournalist, she worked 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, has a specialized degree in cinema from Anhembi Morumbi University and studied documentary filmmaking at UnionDocs, in New York. Moreover she also did courses focused on cinematography, impact documentary, script writing and entrepreneurship. She is currently enrolled in the Masters in Communication Sciences’ Audiovisual and Multimedia branch at the University of Minho.
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.
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Selected by the festivals: DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon (2024, USA), 47º Festival Guarnicê de Cinema and 10º Santos Film Fest (2024, Brazil)
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Pre-launch impact campaign in 5 Brazilian cities, with 9 special screenings followed by debates with 21 renowned guests in museums, cultural, academic and community spaces (2023, Brazil)
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Logan Nonfiction Program (2021, USA)
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American Evaluation Association's Annual Conference (2023, USA)
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64th Convention of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad (2024, Japan)
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II WaKai Forum - Roots and Identity at PUCRS (2024, Brazil)
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Film debate with students of Film Studies at the University of Coimbra (2024, Portugal)
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MigraMediaActs International Conference at University of Minho (2025, Portugal)
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Film shortlisted at IDFA and at FIDBA (2023, Netherlands and Argentina)
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Project shortlisted at Sundance Documentary Fund (2021, USA) and at Berlinale Talents Doc Station (2022, Germany)
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.
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Selected by 8 festivals, such as in-Edit Brazil, São Paulo International Short Film Festival (Curta Kinoforum), MIMO Festival and Festival International Du Film Sur Le Handicap (2018-2019, Brazil and France)
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One of the best 2017-2018 productions selected by a City Hall of Sao Paulo’s competition: Semana Paulistana do Curta-Metragem (2018, Brazil)
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CineB Solar Award (2019, Brazil)
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Non-theatrical screenings for about 900 people and debates with the protagonist (2019, Brazil)
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Art show Decolonizing Realities, by YOUth ACT at Cinetol, in Amsterdam (2021, Netherlands)
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Program dedicated to Minho directors with Lucky Star Film Club of Braga (2024, Portugal)
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Film debates in 5 high schools for about 400 students with Lucky Star Film Club of Braga (2024, Portugal)
