Received Sylff fellowship in 2017
Academic Supervisor: Cecília Almeida Salles
Current affiliation : Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo
Marcos Yoshi is a filmmaker, researcher, and educator based in São Paulo, Brazil. He holds a PhD in Film and Audiovisual Studies from the University of São Paulo, where he researched first-person documentary and autobiographical cinema, including a research period at Nagoya University, Japan. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). His work combines film studies and artistic research, with a particular interest in memory, migration, family archives, Japanese-Brazilian experiences, and the relationship between personal narratives and broader social histories.
Academic Achievements,Social Engagement Initiative
My academic and artistic work has developed through a close relationship between research and filmmaking. I have published on first-person documentary, autobiographical cinema, family archives, affect, and documentary screenwriting, including articles in the Journal of Screenwriting and Doc On-line, as well as book chapters on autobiographical filmmaking and collaborative work with migrant communities.
As a filmmaker, I directed the feature documentary Welcome Back, Farewell (2021), which examines the impact of dekasegi migration on my Japanese-Brazilian family, and the short film In Her Care (2020), centered on family memory and care. Both works received recognition at film festivals, and Welcome Back, Farewell has been screened in Brazil and internationally, including in Japan.
My social engagement activities include audiovisual education, courses for public-school teachers, workshops on archive, memory, and fabulation, and collaborative film projects involving migrant communities. I have also participated in public screenings, discussions, and initiatives focused on Japanese-Brazilian and Asian-Brazilian cinema. Through these activities, I seek to connect academic research and artistic practice with broader conversations on migration, identity, memory, and representation.
Instagram: @_marcosyoshi_
