Yellow Chrysanthemum: Japanese-Brazilian Grief Drama Set During 2014 World Cup Joins Tokyo Gap-Financing Market

A Japanese-Brazilian teenager grappling with an unspoken family loss takes center stage in “Yellow Chrysanthemum,” the debut feature from director André Hayato Saito. The project is among those selected for this year’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, a key industry event that connects filmmakers with potential financiers and partners. Set in São Paulo in July 2014, the film unfolds against the backdrop of Brazil hosting the FIFA World Cup, a period of national euphoria that contrasts sharply with the protagonist’s private turmoil. Saito, himself Japanese-Brazilian, brings a deeply personal perspective to a story that explores cultural identity, silence, and mourning within a family caught between two worlds. The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, held alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival, provides a crucial platform for projects seeking completion funds and international sales. “Yellow Chrysanthemum” is one of several works-in-progress vying for attention from co-producers, distributors, and festival programmers, underscoring the growing global interest in nuanced stories from the Japanese diaspora. For audiences and industry alike, the film promises a rare cinematic window into the Japanese-Brazilian community, a group seldom represented on screen. As it moves toward completion, “Yellow Chrysanthemum” could resonate far beyond its World Cup setting, offering a universal meditation on grief and the silences that shape us.