# ‘Okinawa Saudade’ Director Matsubayashi Yoju on a 10-Year Journey Tracing Brazilian Dancers’ Island Roots

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/okinawa-saudade-director-matsubayashi-yoju-on-a-10-year-journey-tracing-brazilian-dancers-island-roots/
- Published: 2026-11-03T02:13:35+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T03:11:37+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals/okinawa-saudade-director-matsubayashi-yoju-brazilian-dancers-island-roots-1236938110/
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, Elections, Entertainment, Film, Politics, World

## Key points

- Two Brazilian Okinawans travel to Okinawa to explore their roots through dance.
- Director Matsubayashi’s project grew from a decade of ties with the community.
- Brazil formally apologised in 2024 for post-war persecution of Japanese immigrants.

## Summary

“Okinawa Saudade”, a documentary by Matsubayashi Yoju, follows two young Brazilian Okinawans as they travel to Okinawa to explore their heritage through dance. The film connects their search for roots with the history of Okinawan migration and wartime displacement, and grew out of the director’s decade-long relationship with Brazil’s Okinawan community.

Matsubayashi first encountered the community while researching the forced relocation of Japanese Brazilians in Santos; about 60% of those displaced were from Okinawa. His 2020 film, “Okinawa/Santos”, helped build ties that later made this project possible. The new film follows Yumi, who studies Ryukyu Buyo, and Everton, an Eisa teacher, amid a 2024 exchange programme that coincided with Brazil’s formal apology for the post-war persecution of Japanese immigrants. It also considers how Creative Eisa, which began in Brazil about 45 years ago, has developed as a tradition in its own right.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.