DIRECTOR & SHOWRUNNER

Fiction, series & branded entertainment.

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ABOUT

Director and showrunner with 19 years of experience across fiction, series and branded entertainment. His work combines performance direction, visual storytelling and creative leadership to turn concepts into distinctive, clear and production-ready narratives.

He wrote and directed the feature films The Owner and Train Station, international collaborations screened in more than 25 countries. He co-directed Distance, a finalist at the Denver and Miami film festivals, and worked as casting director on O Matador, the first Brazilian Netflix Original feature.

For television, he served as lead director on Balaclava (produced in 2019; released in 2022) and directed Malandragem. Screenwriting, editing and executive production complement his core work as a director.

His most significant production credit to date is Colegas e o Herdeiro, a Gatacine–Globo Filmes co-production opening nationwide this week on 608 screens. As producer and executive producer, he coordinated a complex operation involving 80 actors with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities, 47 purpose-built sets and a five-week shoot.

Education: Radio and Television — Anhembi Morumbi University. Filmmaking specialization — New York Film Academy.

Retrato de Rafael Yoshida, diretor e showrunner.
Retrato de Rafael Yoshida, diretor e showrunner.

BALACLAVA

(PRODUCED 2019 / RELEASED 2022)

Legal-investigative drama series, 8 × 30 minutes.

Role: lead director, showrunner and editor.

Challenge: build a cohesive visual language across more than 30 sets, balancing drama, action and the duality between the investigative agency AGI and the G7 group.

Approach: fluid mise-en-scène, performance direction driven by conflict and a progressive shift to handheld camera as tension rises.

Result: produced in Salvador in 2019 and released by Prime Box Brazil in 2022.

Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 1.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 1.

Behind the direction of Balaclava.

Synopsis

The AGI investigative agency pursues the G7, a network of powerful business figures linked to money laundering and organized crime.

FICTION SERIES — MOVIOCA & PRIME BOX BRAZIL — LEGAL / INVESTIGATIVE DRAMA

DIRECTOR / SHOWRUNNER / EDITOR

Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 2.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 2.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 3.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 3.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 4.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 4.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 5.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 5.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 6.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 6.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 7.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 7.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 8.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 8.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 9.
Cena da série Balaclava — sequência visual 9.

MALANDRAGEM (2017)

Epic action and historical drama series set in Rio de Janeiro in 1885.

Cena de Malandragem, série de ação e drama histórico.
Cena de Malandragem, série de ação e drama histórico.

Synopsis

An epic action drama.

Role: director, writer and editor.

Challenge: translate capoeira, resistance and social conflict into a contemporary visual language without losing its Brazilian historical identity.

Approach: fluid camera movement through rodas and alleyways, organic blocking and handheld work during confrontation, combining poetry and physicality.

Result: pilot produced with a 62-person crew and exhibited by Wolo TV; developed as three seasons of ten episodes.

Cast: Licínio Januário, André Ramiro, Land Vieira, Maicon Rodrigues, Jeniffer Dias and Paulo Roque.

FICTION SERIES — CRPLD & WOLO TV — ACTION / HISTORICAL DRAMA

DIRECTOR / EDITOR / WRITER

Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 1.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 1.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 2.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 2.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 3.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 3.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 4.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 4.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 5.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 5.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 6.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 6.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 7.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 7.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 8.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 8.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 9.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 9.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 10.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 10.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 11.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 11.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 12.
Cena de Malandragem — sequência visual 12.

THE TRAIN STATION (2016)

Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 1.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 1.

Synopsis

An international collaborative feature about identity and choice, with one character played by 43 actors across different countries, languages and cultures.

Role: director, writer, editor and producer.

Challenge: integrate dozens of creative teams into a single narrative while preserving dramatic continuity across cultures and visual styles.

Approach: a fully collaborative process — from development to distribution — carried out through an online platform over four years.

Result: international festival circuit, Best Feature awards and distribution negotiated at the Marché du Film in Cannes.

FEATURE FILM — FICTION / DRAMA / MULTI-GENRE / EXPERIMENTAL (USA)

DIRECTOR / EDITOR / WRITER / PRODUCER

Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 2.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 2.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 3.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 3.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 4.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 4.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 5.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 5.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 6.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 6.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 7.
Cena do longa Train Station — sequência visual 7.

Exibições em Festivais

2015 – Premiere

  • East Lansing Film Festival (EUA)

2016–2017 – Festival Circuit

  • Sudan Independent Film Festival (Sudão)

  • Berlin Independent Film Festival (Alemanha)

  • DC Independent Film Festival (EUA)

  • Riverside International Film Festival (EUA)

  • Córdoba Film Festival (Argentina)

  • BlackStar International Film Festival (Gana)

  • BALINALE International Film Festival (Indonésia)

  • Casa Asia Film Week (Espanha)

  • Rincón International Film Festival - Best Feature

  • Pune Independent Film Festival (Índia) - Best Feature

  • The Goddess on the Throne (Kosovo) – Best Feature

  • Kansas International Film Festival (EUA) – Best Feature

  • Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival (EUA) – Best Feature

  • Miami Independent Film Festival (EUA) – Best Feature Film

  • Calcutta International Cult Film Festival (Índia) – Best Narrative Feature

2018

  • Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Escócia)

Exibições locais (extra festivais)

  • Arena Cinelounge (Los Angeles, EUA)

  • Arena Cinelounge (Santa Monica, EUA)

  • Griessmühle (Berlim, Alemanha)

  • Main Art Theatre (Royal Oak, Michigan, EUA)

  • Boddinale (Loophole and Filmbar) (Berlim, Alemanha)

  • Music Box Theatre (Chicago, EUA)

  • Cinéma Minimum (Neuchâtel, Suíça)

  • Latino Cultural Center of Dallas (Dallas, EUA)

  • Offkino (Bielefeld, Alemanha)

  • Tuning Fork (Mumbai, Índia)

  • Lansing Community College (Lansing, EUA)

  • Zinéma (Lausanne, Suíça)

  • Café de Paris (Paris, França)

  • Cinemateca Distrital (Bogotá, Colômbia)

  • GSC Theatres (Kuala Lumpur, Malásia)

  • Spasial (Java, Indonésia)

  • Cine Olido (São Paulo, Brasil)

THE OWNER (2012)

Cartaz do longa colaborativo The Owner.
Cartaz do longa colaborativo The Owner.

A pioneering collaborative feature following a backpack around the world, connecting 25 directors across five continents.

Role: director, writer, editor and producer.

Challenge: preserve narrative continuity across different countries, languages and visual styles.

Result: recognized by Guinness World Records as the first feature film made collaboratively over the internet and screened in 25 countries.

DIRECTOR / EDITOR / WRITER / PRODUCER

BUDDIES AND THE HEIR (2025)

Comedy road movie feature, a Gatacine and Globo Filmes co-production filmed in Rio Grande do Sul.

Role: producer and executive producer.

Challenge: coordinate a production with 80 actors with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities, 47 sets and a five-week shooting schedule.

Approach: collaborative leadership integrating production, finance and creative teams, with a focus on accessibility and execution.

Result: principal photography completed within the planned budget by an integrated crew.

Cena do longa Colegas e o Herdeiro.
Cena do longa Colegas e o Herdeiro.

Synopsis

Four travelers with Down syndrome head to Punta del Este and find themselves at the center of an inheritance dispute.

FEATURE FILM — GATACINE & GLOBO FILMES — COMEDY / ROAD MOVIE

PRODUCER / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

CONTACT

Available for directing, showrunning and audiovisual collaborations.

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GET IN TOUCH

+55 48 99204-5966
rafaelyoshida@crpld.com.br

© 2026 Rafael Yoshida. All rights reserved.

Directing • Showrunning • Branded Entertainment