Awards Strategy · Festival Positioning · International PR

The art of
being seen
at the right moment.

Sakae PR navigates the most competitive circuits in world cinema — from Sundance to Cannes, from shortlists to winners' podiums.

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About the Agency

Ten years
at the intersection
of Brazilian cinema
and the global stage.

11
Academy Awards Campaigns
5
Cities · Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo, Cannes, Berlin

Sakae PR (USA) and Sakae Cultural (Brazil) was founded by Juliana Sakae — a publicist-producer with a career built at the intersection of curatorial instinct and strategic precision. Her expertise was forged managing the competition leading to the prestigious IDA Awards and creating the Bravo FYC within the Bravo Film Festival.

We operate across the full spectrum of the prestige cinema circuit: awards campaigning, international festival positioning, press strategy, and educational initiatives through our Masterclass program. Our approach is singular: we treat each film as a cultural object with a story to tell beyond the screen.

We work exclusively with projects we believe in — which is why our record speaks for itself.

Walk Run Cha Cha The Edge of Democracy Babenco – Tell Me When I Die Deserto Particular Out of Breath The Falling Sky America Alice Amarela
Portfolio

Selected Clients

Amarela
2024
98th Academy Awards®
Shortlisted · Best Live Action Short Film

Amarela

Awards Campaign
Walk Run Cha-Cha
2019
92nd Academy Awards®
Nominated · Best Documentary Short · Netflix

Walk Run Cha-Cha

Oscar Campaign · Netflix
The Falling Sky
2024
International Circuit
Aruac Filmes · Festival Positioning

The Falling Sky

Festival Campaign · Aruac Filmes
Deserto Particular
2021
Grafo Audiovisual
International PR & Awards Strategy

Deserto Particular

Awards Campaign
America
2022
Muritiba Filmes
Festival & Awards Strategy

America

PR Campaign · Muritiba Filmes
Babenco
2019
Globo Filmes · HB Filmes
Tell Me When I Die · Awards Strategy

Babenco

PR Strategy
The Edge of Democracy
2019
92nd Academy Awards®
Nominated · Best Documentary Feature

The Edge of Democracy

Awards Campaign
Mari Hi — A Tree of Life
2023
Aruac Filmes
Yanomami Cinema · Awards Circuit

Mari Hi — A Tree of Life

Festival & Awards Campaign
Alice
2022
International Circuit
Festival Positioning & PR

Alice

PR Campaign
The Team

The people
behind an award campaign.

Juliana Sakae
Juliana Sakae
Strategist

Founder of Sakae PR, she has strategized and produced 10+ international award campaigns in Los Angeles, New York, Venice and Brazil.

Waldemar Dalenogare
Waldemar Dalenogare
Strategist

Film critic specializing in the Academy Awards, and a former Oscar commentator for Globo, bringing decades of industry-informed insight.

Raquel Almeida
Raquel Almeida
Assistant Producer

Oscar campaigns researcher, she has served as assistant producer on three award campaigns in Los Angeles.

Vinicius Mafra
Vinícius Mafra
Design

Designer specializing in campaign artwork built to AMPAS guidelines, creating FYC materials with precision compliance.

How We Work

What is really
behind an Oscars campaign.

Everyone sees the trailer, the red carpet, the envelope. What they don't see is the nine months of regulatory reading, fundraising, budget strategy, and relationship-building that tip the odds. An Oscars campaign isn't a marketing push bolted onto a finished film — it's an organized team effort, built on three pillars: advertising, private screenings, and the critics' circuit. Understanding which phase of the competition you're in dictates almost everything else.

Read the full essay →
Masterclass

The craft
behind the campaign.

Our Masterclass program opens the strategies, relationships, and decisions that define a successful awards campaign — for filmmakers, producers, and distributors who want to navigate the international circuit with intention. Special guests: Film Critic Waldemar Dalenogare, filmmakers Ana and Helena Petta, and producer Marília Senlle. Sponsored by SPCINE.

Masterclass · Parte 1
Masterclass · Parte 2
Contact

Let's position
your film.

We work with a select number of projects each season. If you have a film that deserves to be seen — at the right festival, at the right time, by the right people — reach out.

juliana@sakaepr.com

USA

Sakae International LLC

Brasil

Sakae Cultural LTDA

  • 01

    Awards Campaigning

    Oscars, IDA Awards, DOCNYC, Venice VR — full-cycle strategy from eligibility to promoting.

  • 02

    Festival Strategy

    Cannes, Berlinale, Sundance, Venice — positioning and press strategy.

  • 03

    International PR

    Media relations across North America, Europe, and Latin America.