West Encounters East, a 60-minute documentary film released in 2013 by PBS, explores the themes of immigration, alienation and assimilation through the works of Japanese-Brazilian artists, descendants of a century-old diaspora that has given Sao Paulo, Brazil, the largest Japanese population outside Japan. ‘The possibility of bridging cultures through art has always captured my soul, especially cultures that are so vastly different,’ says filmmaker Stella M. Holmes, who was inspired by the works of these bicultural artists to embark upon a personal journey of discovery.?