West Encounters East   began in 2010 when Ms. Holmes, documentary filmmaker, art historian and patron of the arts in Miami, came across works by Japanese Brazilian artists in São Paulo that seemed to speak directly to her own experience. As a child, Ms. Holmes, the daughter of a Paraguayan mother growing up in Argentina's country, often felt conflicted about her identity.

​

"I was raised in a bicultural family in Argentina, and I know what it is feels like to be an outsider," she says." As I began to travel deeper into the world of the Japanese Brazilian artists, this project became a personal journey. It captured my soul.”

​

She was surprised to learn that very little was known about these artists outside Brazil. Recognizing that film would be the best way to communicate the power of these images to the general public, she embarked upon a new career as a documentary filmmaker.