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Ayumu Yuasa was born in Hyogo, Japan, in 2000. He studied filmmaking at Rikkyo University’s Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts under the tutelage of director Makoto Shinozaki. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in film directing at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, under the guidance of directors Atsuhiko Suwa and Akihiko Shiota. His short “Our Voice” is his graduation project and was recently screened at Nippon Connection.

Our Voice is screening at Nippon Connection

“Our Voice” begins with a nine-year-old boy, Nobuhito, entering his house during a heavy downpour. He clearly has a stutter, as shown when he struggles to say “tadaima.” Moments later, he finds his mother unconscious on the floor. With his older sister nowhere to be found, he tries to call emergency services, but his speech impediment prevents him from speaking. A flashforward then shows Nobuhito at 23, receiving...

Starting his career with an uncredited role in Akira Kurosawa's “Ran” in 1985, the first role anybody would have noticed Susumu Terajima would have been in Takeshi Kitano's 1989 debut “Violent Cop”, as a drug addict henchman. Since then, he has been a notable face in many a cops vs. thugs film, among others, now with over 200 credits to his name.

Having been a regular with some of Japan's leading directors, notably Kitano, Takashi Miike, Hirokazu Koreeda and Sabu, to name but a few, he is typically always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Terajima's career has been one of support roles, not often taking the lead, but his face is a reliable one, with many top directors turning to him, and any Japanese cinema connoisseur will need more than 2 hands to count the number of roles of his they've seen.

Here are some standouts from his career that has seen him play: a likeable,...

For much of its running time, “Asakusa Kid” is a safe, traditional and easily enjoyable biographical drama about the scrappy early career of legendary Japanese comedian-actor-author-filmmaker “Beat” Takeshi Kitano. When the handsomely packaged Netflix movie injects the verve and invention Kitano is celebrated for, it shines much more brightly. Though it doesn’t offer the penetrating insight into Kitano that many viewers would be hoping for, this adaptation of his memoir by writer-director Gekidan Hitori (“A Bolt From the Blue”) does provide a respectful and touching portrait of Kitano’s mentor Senzaburo Fukami, the master entertainer whose fame and fortune declined sharply as Kitano’s career started to soar.

Published in 1988 and previously filmed in 2002 by Makoto Shinozaki (also director of the 1999 Kitano documentary “Jam Session”), “Asakusa Kid” charts the early life adventures and showbiz education of university dropout Kitano in the early 1970s. Opening in familiar biography style with...

“Until It Cools Down” is the first collaborative short of Kyoto Sato and Kanon Okamoto. Under the instruction of Hirokazu Koreeda, Makoto Shinozaki, and Tamaki Tsuchida, the two Waseda University graduates took part in the “Film Production Training Initiative 2020”. The triangle love story about two high school girls and a male classmate tackles the “ifs”, “whens”, and “whys” of teenage affection.

Until It Cools Down is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival

When Kento introduces his childhood friend Mariko to his girlfriend Azusa, the young women catch feelings for each other and Kento starts to distance. The simple story spans over roughly 20 minutes and definitely feels like a student project. Many close shots create cramped images that do not please the eye. Disruptive editing of the mostly handheld camera scenes adds up to the amateurish technical aspect of the film.

On the upside, the newcomer Shiki Morikawa, Ao Sekiguchi,...

While theme or message driven narratives can be quite interesting, there are also those which make the mistake of emphasizing what they want to say over other aspects, such as characters, plot development or atmosphere. In the end, what could have been a great film or novel is just really dire or rather tough like a steak fried for too long, which is especially annoying when it comes to genre filmmaking. Perhaps this is the reason Japanese director Zenzo Sakai has stated he rather aims for making features, which the audience might find interesting, rather than concentrating on a theme or message. In his short feature “Psychology Counselor” the director and screenwriter of Makoto Shinozaki’s “Since Then” and “Sharing” aims for atmosphere and characters, resulting in an intriguing psychological thriller which includes elements of horror.

Psychology Counselor is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival

Mami (Mutsumi Suzuki) has...

Documentaries about people with extreme moving disabilities are not exactly a norm in the industry, and even more, ones that are directed by people with these disabilities are even less, if any. Tomoya Ishida, himself strained on a wheelchair, made this film as his graduation project, after attending a video production seminar at Rikkyo University, focusing on the ways “disabled people change their bodies and minds by participating in artistic activities”. His production team consisted of three people, him as the director, Megumi Honda as the cinematographer and Riho Fujiwara who was in charge of sound. The three of them recorded about 100 hours of footage, with Ishida editing the material for about two years. The result was triumphant, as the film won the Grand Prize at Pia Film Festival.

“Transform!” screened at the 42nd Pia Film Festival and will be released in Japan, on June 19. You can check the official website for more info.

“Sitting at an Angle” is a student project by Ayaka Kishi supported by the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering at Waseda University. Produced with an amateur crew, Kishi’s directorial debut tells a story about loss and convergence. Under the supervision of Hirokazu Koreeda (“Shoplifters” 2018) and Makoto Shinozaki (“Okaeri” 1995) the film explores the life of Tatsunori (Tomohiko Kiyota), who lives together with his mother-in-law Nobuki (Tomoko Takama) after he lost his wife, Haru. Marked by her sudden death, their already distant relationship is challenged and both of them look ahead into an unknown future.

Sitting at an Angle screened at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival

Without further introduction, the plot begins as typical as it gets in Japanese cinema. At a dinner table. Facing each other, trying to hide the malaise, and unable to speak about their feelings of grief, the protagonist exhibit clear signs of discomfort. Haru, the...

スクロールダウンして、日本語の翻訳をご覧ください。. Translation by Lukasz Mankowski

Born in Tokyo. Tsuboi graduated from the Japan Institute of the Moving Image, then enrolled in the Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts at Rikkyo University. There, he worked on Makoto Shinozaki’s Sharing (2014), Wish We Were Here (2018) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Journey to the Shore (2015). Sacrifice is Tsuboi’s feature debut and the first film to be produced with a scholarship from Rikkyo’s Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts.

On the occasion of Sacrifice screening at Japan Cuts, we speak with him about combining the Aum Incident with 3/11, hiding yourself in plain sight, the casting and the cinematography of the film, and other topics.

Why did you decide to combine the Aum Incident and 3/11 in your film? What do you feel was the impact of these two disasters on the Japanese people? Why did you decide to also include notions...

Akihiko Shiota – attended Rikkyo University, where he was in a film club with other students such as Makoto Shinozaki and Shinji Aoyama and began making 8mm films in the tradition of other Rikkyo students like Kiyoshi Kurosawa. His independent films were recognized at Pia Film Festival and he began writing film criticism and working as an assistant for Kurosawa and other filmmakers. He also studied scriptwriting under Atsushi Yamatoya and worked as the cinematographer for films by Takayoshi Yamaguchi. His films ‘Moonlight Whispers’ and ‘Don’t Look Back’, both released in 1999 earned Shiota the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. ‘Don’t Look Back’ won also the Jury Prize at the Three Continents Festival. ‘Harmful Insect‘ (2002) was screened at the Venice Film Festival and earned two more awards at the Three Continents Festival. His first major commercial film ‘Yomigaeri’ was the fourth biggest grossing Japanese film in 2003. ‘Canary’ (2005) inspired by the...

Newcomer director Natsuki Nakagawa made an appearance at Nippon Connection in Frankfurt to present her debut film “She is Alone“. We took the opportunity and talked with the aspiring filmmaker about film studies, university and her strong female lead character.

“She is Alone” screened at Nippon Connection

You graduated from Rikkyo University and studied filmmaking, psychology and Cinematic Arts. As I understand, “She is Alone” is your thesis film. When did you decide to study film? And how much do film and psychology interact?

I wanted to learn how to make a film after I graduated from college. I thought about making a movie from a young age. However, I actually wanted to make a movie when I was looking for a job. The name of the department at my university can lead to misunderstandings because of its name. My department is further divided into psychology and cinematic arts. The...

A projectionist and film journalist – and later film tutor – Makoto Shinozaki’s 1995 directorial debut “Okaeri” (“Welcome Home”) on first glance certainly appears the work of a novice. However, by the end of the film, there are certainly signs of accomplished filmmaking.

“Okaeri” was screened at Doc Films Chicago:

Young married couple the Kitazawas, Takashi (Susumu Terajima) and Yuriko (Miho Uemura), are bang average. Takashi works as a teacher, sometimes working late, sometimes talked into late night drinks, welcomed home by freelance transcriber Yuriko in their modest urban apartment. He is easily led, appearing to put work before his wife, while she quietly waits at home for his return; a fine meal prepared.

But the more time passes, the more Yuriko’s stares out the window into the void start to take their toll. Takashi fails to notice her blank stares until it is too late. Beginning to wander the streets aimlessly,...

All feature new 2K remasters from Office Kitano!

The first 1000 copies of each feature cardboard slipcases with new illustrated artwork by Marie Bergeron supported by Filmdoo’s Film Creativity Competition.

All 3 now available to pre-order at: http://amzn.to/20wQ1BA

Hana-bi – January 11th

30 minute documentary from the film’s original release

Interview with Takeshi Kitano from the film’s original release

New Audio commentary by film critic Mark Schilling

New trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTWtAE3ylY

Kikujiro – February 22nd

Jam Session – 90 minute documentary on Kikujiro directed by the award-winning Japanese director Makoto Shinozaki

Dolls – March 14th

Interviews with Takeshi Kitano, Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima & Yohij Yamamoto

Behind the Scenes

Video from the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival

Takeshi Kitano – Biography

The success of Hana-bi has confirmed Takeshi Kitano as a leading figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, Hana-bi won the Golden...

Director: Makoto Shinozaki. Review: Adam Wing. The last time we saw Asami she was taking revenge on the gang members who had left her for dead after running riot in her town. She teamed up with a quartet of gun toting babes locked, loaded and ready for action. Dressed in next to nothing (go figure), Asami and her ‘Yakuza Hunters’ took to the streets in search of simple-minded madmen and the taste of bloody retribution. The fight sequences (when they came) were deliciously dirty, but Yakuza Hunters dragged its (high) heels from time to time, boosting the running time with layers of misjudged sentiment. With a retro soundtrack and gore by the bucket load, the first chapter kicked enough Yakuza ass to make the prospect of part 2 a welcome one, but if you’re hoping to see Asami half naked again, you’ll have to file this second helping away...

Above: From left to right, Tokyo FilmEx festival directors Kanako Hayashi and Shozo Ichiyama; and Nobuteru Uchida's prize-winning film, Love Addition.

Last November, I had a conversation with Tokyo FilmEx Festival directors Shozo Ichiyama and Kanako Hayashi. For more than a decade, this duo has helmed Japan’s most serious festival, one dedicated to independent cinema from Asia. Office Kitano, Takeshi Kitano’s production company, has remained its key partner over the years, and helped Japan’s support of Iranian directors as well as groundbreaking figures from China, most notably Jia Zhangke, a regular at FilmEx from the beginning. The festival also revealed the fragile state of art cinema in and from Japan and how a very small, centralized community that has been determining what fits into this category, and what is not allowed in; a community that’s aged while being unable to neither find nor form new heirs.

Back in April, a website was launched for Makoto Shinozaki's upcoming film Tokyo-jima, complete with a 4-minute extended trailer. Earlier today, Gaga Communications uploaded a new 30-second teaser and a 150-second theatrical trailer to their YouTube channel.

Based on an award-winning novel by Natsuo Kirino, the film stars Tae Kimura as Kiyoko, an ordinary 43-year-old housewife who gets stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island with 23 other people -- all of whom are young men. Island life is peaceful at first, and Kiyoko receives special treatment from the men around her. However, as more time passes, frustrations begin to mount and she decides to begin planning her escape.

Gaga will be releasing Tokyo-jima in Japan on August 28, 2010.

Note: This article was originally posted on 4/29. Skip to the bottom for the most recent update.

It’s been known for a few weeks now that Hello! Project pop star and idol Erina Mano (19) would be visiting Los Angeles to be guest at Anime Expo 2010, thanks to this tweet by Tokyograph. Now further details of her trip have been revealed. During her visit, an advance screening will be held for a new horror movie called Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: Kaiki (no word yet on the English title) which marks Mano’s debut as a film actress.

The movie was directed by Makoto Shinozaki (Tokyo-jima) and is based on two short films, “Tsukimono” and “Nozomi”, from the omnibus horror television series “Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro”. The original series was broadcast on Bs-tbs in 2003 and consisted of around 100 short films directed by major names in J-horror such as Norio Tsuruta (Orochi: Blood) and...

The official website for Makoto Shinozaki‘s Tokyo-jima got an overhaul at some point yesterday, apparently including a 4-minute trailer which is now greyed out on the navigation bar. Luckily, the Polish website CinemaAsia somehow managed to download it early.

Based on an award-winning novel by Natsuo Kirino, the film stars Tae Kimura as Kiyoko, an ordinary 43-year-old housewife who gets stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island with 23 other people—all of whom are young men. Island life is peaceful at first, and Kiyoko receives special treatment from the men around her. However, as more time passes, frustrations begin to mount and she decides to begin planning her escape.

“Tokyo-jima” will be released by Gaga Communications in Japan this summer.