Although their talent has often been overlooked, women have been an integral part of the Japanese film industry since the 1920s. The past decade has seen a marked change as women have flooded the film festival circuit and won countless awards both in Japan and internationally. Independent and studio film makers alike have developed a reputation for ambitious films, marked by diversity and creativity in storytelling and technique. As women's role in cinema has increased, both on screen and behind the scenes, it has inspired young audiences around the world and promoted fundamental changes in the Japanese film industry.

The JICC's "Women in Cinema" film series is an ongoing series featuring female Japanese writers, directors, producers and actors. The series seeks to highlight the contributions women are making to the Japanese film industry, as well as celebrate their role in Japanese cinema history.

Films will be added on an ongoing basis, so please check back often for updates. All films will be free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Millennium Actress (Remastered)
Mami Koyama

Mami KoyamaVoice Actor
Photo © MyAnimeList

Mami Koyama is a prolific Japanese voice actor with an extremely successful career spanning over four decades and well over a hundred different projects. She is best known for being featured in classic anime productions such as Mobile Suit Gundam (1979), Urusei Yatsura (1981), Dragon Ball (1986-89), Saint Seiya (1986-89), and more. Koyama is still very active today and her recent roles include Sailor Moon Crystal (2014-15), One Piece (2017-ongoing), Kyoto Animation studio's Violet Evergarden (2018) and Dororo (2019).

Millennium Actress (Remastered)
A Silent Voice

Naoko YamadaDirector

A graduate of the Kyoto University of Art and Design, Naoko Yamada began her career at Kyoto Animation as an inbetween artist. She made her directorial debut for the series K-On! (2009) which became a major success for the studio and was turned into a film in 2011. Her next film, Tamako Love Story (2014) garnered her the New Face Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. This was followed by A Silent Voice (2016) which was nominated for Best Animated Film by the Mainichi Film Concurs and the Japanese Academy. She recently directed Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) which was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival.

A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice

Reiko YoshidaScreenwriter

A prolific writer for animation, film, and manga, Reiko Yoshida made her debut in the 1990s writing for the Dragon Ball Z television series. Her first film screenplay came in 1999's DIGIMON ADVENTURE, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. In 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Best Screenplay Award at the Tokyo Anime Awards. She has collaborated frequently with director Naoko Yamada on such films as K-On! The Movie (2011), Tamako Love Story (2014), A Silent Voice (2016), and most recently Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) which was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival.

A Silent Voice
Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms

Mari OkadaDirector

A member of the Writers Guild of Japan and one of the most prolific and well known anime screenwriters today, Mari Okada began her career in 1996 writing scenarios for direct-to-video features, video games, and radio dramas. For her tremendous output and work in several anime series in 2011, including Fractale, Wandering Son, GOSICK, Hanasaku Iroha, and the hit series Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Mari Okada was awarded the 16th Animation Kobe Award – Individual Award. Among other anime series and films that she has written for include Fate/Stay Night (2006), Black Butler (2008), Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc (2011), Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (2012), Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015), and The Anthem of the Heart (2015). Okada made her directorial debut in 2018's Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms.

Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms
The Ballad of Narayama
Kinuyo Tanaka

Kinuyo TanakaActress

One of the most iconic and beloved actresses from Japan, Kinuyo Tanaka's career spanned over a half-century from the 1920s until her death in 1977. She appeared in hundreds of films and is perhaps most remember overseas for her collaborations with director Kenji Mizoguchi, starring in such films as The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953), and Sansho the Bailiff (1954). She also become one of the first Japanese women to direct films, debuting in 1953 with the film Love Letter. She went on to direct five more films including The Eternal Breasts (1955) and Ogin-Sama (1962). She received both a Medal of Honor and Order of the Sacred Treasure. The Mainichi Film Awards named an award in her honor, given to Japanese actresses since 1985.

The Ballad of Narayama
Keep Your Chin Up
Takiko Mizunoe

Takiko MizunoeProducer

Takiko Mizunoe (1915-2009), born Umeko Miura, began her career in the late 1920s in a musical troupe for Shochiku's theatrical company. She became known for performing in male roles and enjoyed great popularity in the 1930s. In 1955 she became the first female producer in Japan at Nikkatsu studios. She produced many highly successful and sensational films featuring a troupe of young actors such as Yujiro Ishihara and Ruriko Asaoka. Some of the films she produced included Season of the Sun (1956), Crazed Fruit (1956), and Rusty Knife (1958). She continued producing, acting, and performing into the 1990s.

Keep Your Chin Up
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
Michiru Oshima

Michiru OshimaComposer

Michiru Oshima is a Japanese composer from Nagasaki that has written music for a variety of media including film, television, and theater. She has also written many original works that have been performed by classical artists such as Hilary Hahn, Pierre Lenert, and the Ravel Quartet. Her awards include the Mainichi Film Contest Award for Best Music, and the 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th and 30th Japanese Academy Award for Music, the Best Composer Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival in 2007, Best Music at the 2005 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and the Tokyo Anime Award for Best Music in 2006.

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
EuroAsia Shorts 2019

Minami GotoActress

Minami Goto is a Japanese filmmaker with aspirations to work globally. She recently obtained an MFA degree at Columbia University in New York. She holds a BA in Art History from Tokyo University, where she produced a series of film screenings and events before working as an assistant and producer at art galleries throughout Tokyo. She has extensive experience working with international crews and has directed, written and produced a number of short films in both the United States and Japan. Her most recent directed work, BREAKERS, had its premiere at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2018 (from Minami Goto's biography on Vimeo).

EuroAsia Shorts 2019
Akira

Atsuko FukushimaKey Animator

Atsuko Fukushima, from Osaka, is an animator and illustrator. She worked on such anime films as Space Adventure Cobra (1982), Golgo 13: The Professional (1983), and The Dagger of Kamui (1985). She has also been a key animator for Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal film Akira (1988), Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), and segments in Memories (1995) and Genius Party (2006). She most recently contributed character designs to the 2014 award-winning film Giovanni’s Island as well as animation for the award-winning films In This Corner of the World (2016) and Okko's Inn (2018).

AKIRA
Shoplifters

Keiko Mitsumatsu Production Designer

Keiko Mitsumatsu became interested in set design after doing some part-time acting work for commercials after high-school and later enrolled in the Nikkatsu Visual Arts Academy. Her early career includes credits on Naomi Kawase's Suzaku (1997) and Takashi Miike's The Bird People in China (1998). She began working with Hirokazu Kore-eda in 2001 and has since done production design and art direction for most of his films since, including Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008), Like Father, Like Son (2013), Our Little Sister (2015), After the Storm (2016), and Shoplifters (2018). She was nominated for Best Art Direction for Our Little Sister at the Awards of the Japanese Academy in 2016. She has also worked with the acclaimed director Miwa Nishikawa on her films Sway (2006), Dear Doctor (2009), Dreams for Sale (2012) and The Long Excuse (2016).

Shoplifters
Shoplifters

Kazuko KurosawaCostume Designer

An accomplished costume designer and daughter of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Kazuko Kurosawa is known for her work on The Twilight Samurai (2002), Still Walking (2008), Kiyosu Conference, After the Storm (2016), and most recently Shoplifters (2018).

Shoplifters
Shoplifters

Kaoru Matsuzaki Producer

A television and film producer, Kaoru Matsuzaki is a graduate of the International Christian University. She began her career with Sony and is currently with Fuji Television. She has been a producer for such films as Oh! Oku (2006), Honokaa Boy (2009), Mt. Tsurugidake (2009), Thermae Romae (2012), Like Father, Like Son (2013), and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s most recent films Our Little Sister (2015) and After the Storm (2016).

Shoplifters
Shoplifters
Kirin Kiki

Kirin Kiki Actor

The daughter of a master biwa (lute) player, Kirin Kiki began her acting career in the 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe. She began acting regularly in film and television, gaining popularity for her comedic roles and often performing the role of an elderly woman in spite of her youth. Kiki has recently been highly recognized for her roles in such films as Hanochi (2004), Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008), Still Walking (2008), and Chronicle of My Mother (2014) for which she won Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently, she starred Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After the Storm (2016) and in Naomi Kawase’s An (2015), winning Best Actress at the 2016 Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Kiki passed away in September 2018. Her final films include Mori, the Artist's Habitat (2018), Shoplifters (2018), and Every Day a Good Day (2018).

Shoplifters
Shoplifters
Sakura Ando

Sakura AndoActor
Photo © Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan

A versatile and talented actor, Sakura Ando has wowed audiences since her major debut in Sion Sono's Love Exposure (2010) for which she received the Best Support Actress award at the Yokohama Film Festival. Ando continued appearing in critically acclaimed roles such as Takashi Miike's For Love's Sake (2012) and Our Homeland (2013) which garnered her numerous Best Actress Awards, and an incredible starring role in 2014's 100 Yen Love. She most recently starred in the Palme d'Or winning Shoplifters.

Shoplifters
Lu Over the Wall

Reiko YoshidaScreenwriter

A prolific writer for animation, film, and manga, Reiko Yoshida made her debut in the 1990s writing for the Dragon Ball Z television series. Her first film screenplay came in 1999's DIGIMON ADVENTURE, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. In 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Best Screenplay Award at the Tokyo Anime Awards. She has collaborated frequently with director Naoko Yamada on such films as K-On! The Movie (2011), Tamako Love Story (2014), A Silent Voice (2016), and most recently Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) which was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival.

Lu Over the Wall
Drowning Love
Yuki Yamato

Yuki YamatoDirector
Photo © Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan

While studying at Sophia University as a philosophy student, Yuki Yamato wrote and directed That Girl Is Dancing By the Seaside (2012) which received a Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Student Film Festival. She continued directing until graduation and afterwards, receiving the Best New Director Award from the Japanese Professional Movie Association. Yamato's 2016 film Drowning Love was released to critical acclaim and her most recent film is Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy (2019).

Drowning Love
Survival Family
Eri Fukatsu

Eri FukatsuActor
Photo © 2019 The Movie Database

A multitalented film and TV actor, Eri Fukatsu is known for her ability to portray a wide array of characters. She won best actress awards for her role in Haru (1996), a story about online romance and for her performance in Lee Sang-il’s film adaptation of the crime noir novel Villain (2010). She also starred as the clever but often overlooked matriarch in Survival Family (2017).

Survival Family
Okko's Inn

Reiko YoshidaScreenwriter

A prolific writer for animation, film, and manga, Reiko Yoshida made her debut in the 1990s writing for the Dragon Ball Z television series. Her first film screenplay came in 1999's DIGIMON ADVENTURE, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. In 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Best Screenplay Award at the Tokyo Anime Awards. She has collaborated frequently with director Naoko Yamada on such films as K-On! The Movie (2011), Tamako Love Story (2014), A Silent Voice (2016), and most recently Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) which was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival.

Okko's Inn
Japanese Girls Never Die
Mariko Yamauchi

Mariko YamauchiAuthor/Screenwriter
Photo © AsianWiki

A graduate of the Osaka University of Arts, Mariko Yamauchi originally began in their film department but eventually jumpstarted a career as a writer and essayist at 25. Her first novel, Koko wa taikutsu mukae ni kite (loosely translated to It's Boring Here, Pick Me Up) was widely praised and also adapted into a film in 2018. She specializes in writing stories about the trials and tribulations of modern Japanese women. Yamauchi is inspired by her deep knowledge of cinema and daily experiences. She also contributed to the screenplay of her other novel’s film adaption, Japanese Girls Never Die (alternative title: Azumi Haruko is Missing).

Japanese Girls Never Die
Japanese Girls Never Die
Yu Aoi

Yu AoiActor
Photo © Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan

Yu Aoi is a Japanese actor and model known for her successful debut in Shunji Iwai’s film All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001). She has worked in many notable projects as their starring lead such as Hana and Alice (2004) and Hula Girls (2006). Aoi has received numerous awards for her stellar performances on screen and in particular, received the Japan Academy Prize in 2007. She is known for portraying eclectic and fascinating female characters on screen.

Japanese Girls Never Die
Japanese Girls Never Die
Mitsuki Takahata

Mitsuki TakahataActor / Singer
Photo © AsianWiki

Mitsuki Takahata began her successful acting and singing career in multiple industries: television, theatre, and voice acting. Her noteworthy roles include the film adapation of a popular shojo manga, Blue Spring Ride (2014) and the hit anime film Napping Princess (2017). She has also starred in theatrical adaptations of Peter Pan, The Miracle Worker, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, and more. In 2017 she won the Newcomer of the Year Award at the 41st Elan d'or Awards and the 40th Japan Academy Prize.

Japanese Girls Never Die
NYJCF 2019 Ofuku
Yu Aoi

Sayoko AkutsuDirector / Screenwriter / Producer
Photo © Hasegawa ST Company

Since the incorporation of the Hasegawa ST company’s video division in 2001, Sayoko Akutsu has been involved with various types of moving image productions including wedding videos, commercials, movies, and TV shows. In 2016, she began producing short films featuring Ofuku played by Takashi Hasegawa. They have been exhibited in international and North American film festivals since then. Ofuku films have been shown at the following film festivals: Chelsea Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, International Filmmaker Festival of New York, Madrid International Film Festival, and Broadway International Film Festival Los Angeles.

Ofuku | NYJCF 2019
La La La at Rock Bottom

Tomoe KannoScreenwriter

A screenwriter from Chiba prefecture, Tomoe Kanno began her career as an assistant producer on 2006’s First Love. She also work on NHK’s WILDLIFE program. Her screenplay film debut came in 2010’s Time Traveller (2010). Her other screenplays include Scattered Reflection (2011), Girl in the Sunny Place (2013), and Miracle: Devil Claus’ Love and Magic (2014). Her screenplay for La La La at Rockbottom (2015) received the Best Screenplay at the Fantasia Film Festival. Her latest writing work was on The Wind in Your Heart which premiered in 2017.

La La La at Rock Bottom
La La La at Rock Bottom

Fumi NikaidoActor

Originally from Okinawa, Fumi Nikaido began her career modeling before her first film debut in 2009 in Toad’s Oil. Her breakthrough role came in Sion Sono’s powerful Himizu for which Fumi received the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival. She’s played in a variety of roles in a diverse line-up of films including The Warped Forest (2011), Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013), Mourning Recipe (2013), My Man (2014), and La La La at Rock Bottom (2015). She most recently starred in Scoop! and Somebody, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 41st Hochi Film Awards. She will star in two upcoming manga adaptations in 2018, River’s Edge, based on the manga by Kyoko Okazaki, and Inuyashiki, based on the manga by Hiroya Oka.

La La La at Rock Bottom | A Farewell to Jinu
The Girl Who Lept Through Time

Satoko OkuderaScreenwriter

Satoko Okudera, originally from Iwate prefecture, did not initially plan to become a screenwriter although she enjoyed writing scenarios as a college student. After graduating from Tokai University she worked for an oil company until she quit to pursue writing full time. Her debut screenplay, Moving (1993), co-written with Satoshi Okonogi, screened in the Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she was nominated for Best Screenplay at the Awards of the Japanese Academy for Gakko no Kaidan in 1995. In 1998 she studied in the United States as part of an overseas study program by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Her first major hit came with the Mamoru Hosoda directed animated film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006). She went on to write and co-write two other films directed by Hosoda, Summer Wars (2009), and Wolf Children (2014), each of which were awarded Best Screenplay at the Tokyo Anime Awards. In 2011 she received the Best Screenplay award for the hit movie Rebirth. Her most recent film screenplay was for the live-action adaptation of Kiki’s Delivery Service (2014) and The Vancouver Asahi (2014).

The Girl Who Lept Through Time
A Farewell to Jinu

Takako MatsuActor

Takako Matsu is an actress and singer from Tokyo. She made her film debut in 1997 in Tokyo Weather for which she won the Best New Actress award at the Hochi Film Awards. She went on to star in several hit films including The Hidden Blade (2004), and Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me and Sometimes Dad (2007). She received tremendous critical acclaim in 2009 and 2010 when she starred alongside Tadanobu Asano in Villon’s Wife (2009) and the main character in the wildly popular film Confessions (2010). Both films garnered Matsu multiple nominations and awards for Best Actress, including at the Japanese Academy Awards and Kinema Junpo Awards. Most recently she has starred in films like The Little House (2014), A Farewell to Jinu (2015), Fireworks (2017), and the upcoming Kuru (2019).

A Farewell to Jinu
your name.

Mone KamishiraishiVoice Actor

Originally from Kagoshima, Mone Kamishiraishi made her stage debut when she won a special jury prize at the 7th Toho Cinderella Auditions in 2011. Her acting debut came in 2012 on the TV drama Bunshin and her first film appearance was in 2012’s Sorairo Monogatari. For her role in Lady Maiko in 2014 she received several awards including the Best New Actor prize at the 2014 Fumiko Yamaji Film Awards and the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Japan Academy Awards. She also stars in the ongoing film series Chihayafuru and was most recently Drowning Love (2016) and the voice of the lead character in the smash hit animated film your name. in 2016.

your name.
your name.

Akiko MajimaBackground Art Director

Akiko Majima graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts. She studied abroad in Cuba where she directed a short film Distancias that was awarded the prize for cinematography at the Nazionale Cinema-Video Plaza Festival and best screenplay at the CARACOL Festival. She began working at Comix Wave as artist and background artist for The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007), The Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), and the recent hit film your name. (2016).

your name.
your name.

Atsuko TanakaKey Animator

A highly talented animator, Atsuko Tanaka, originally an animator for Telecom, has been very active since she first worked on Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979. Praised by Yasuo Otsuka, a veteran of Ghibli, as being a "natural-born animator", Atsuko has been key animator on many major films including most recently: The Wind Rises (2013), The Boy and the Beast (2015), your name. (2016), and the upcoming Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017).

your name.
your name.

Hiroko MinowaKey Animator

Hiroko Minowa began her career in the early 1980s with Nippon Animation working on animation for film adaptations of popular television series. After become a freelance animator she has primarily done work as key animation for such prestigious films as Studio Ghibli’s Porco Rosso (1992), Whisper of the Heart (1995), Princess Mononoke (1997), and several projects with Disney.

your name.
The Old Capital

Chieko SuzakiEditor

Chieko Suzaki began her career in television, working on science-fiction and action shows before entering film as assistant editor on Hideyuki Hirayama’s Begging for Love (1998). Her first film as editor was 2007’s Talk Talk Talk, and she has edited for other films such as Jellyfish (2013), Uzumasa Limelight (2014), 100 Yen Love (2014), Ninja the Monster (2015), and The Old Capital (2016). For her work on 2010’s Sword of Desparation she was nominated for Best Editing at the Japanese Academy Awards. Her most recent work was as editor for the live-action version of Fullmetal Alchemist (2017).

The Old Capital
The Old Capital

Riko NarumiActor

A relatively new talent, Riko Narumi has already made a big impression, starring in films such as Shodo Girls. In 2007, she won the New Talent Award (Sponichi Grand Prize) for her roles in Shindo and How To Become Myself (2007). She has appeared in films including Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013), A Tale of Samurai Cooking (2013), Yakuza Apocalypse (2015), Strayer’s Chronicle (2015), and The Old Capital (2016).

The Old Capital
The Hidden Fortress
Misa Uehara

Misa UeharaActor

Misa Uehara comes from Fukuoka, Japan and made her acting debut in Akira Kurosawa’s film The Hidden Fortress (1958). Kurosawa admired her versatility in being able to convey refinement and fierceness. Despite her sudden rise to popularity, Uehara only acted for two years before retiring, starring in films like Hiroshi Inagaki’s The Three Treasures (1959) and Storm Over the Pacific (1960). Uehara passed away in 2003.

The Hidden Fortress
FOUJITA
Miki Nakatani

Miki NakataniActor

Miki Nakatani became well known after her work in Ring (1998). Her role in Memories of Matsuko (2006) won her Best Actress at the Hochi Film Awards, Kinema Junpo Awards, Japan Academy Prize, Mainichi Film Concurs, and Asian Film Awards. Most recently she has starred in A Stitch of Life and FOUJITA.

FOUJITA
Ocean Waves

Keiko NiwaScreenwriter

Keiko Niwa, an editor and screenwriter, began her career at Tokuma Shoten working on the Animage magazine with Toshio Suzuki. After Suzuki moved to Studio Ghibli, he asked Keiko to write the screenplay for Ocean Waves (1993), a TV anime film. Since then, Keiko has co-written the screenplays for other Ghibli films such as Tales from Earthsea (2006), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), From Up on Poppy Hill (2011), and When Marnie Was There (2014).

Ocean Waves
Ocean Waves

Atsuko OtaniKey Animation

A veteran of Studio Ghibli, Atsuko Otani began in television, doing animation for several literary adaptations for television including Swiss Family Robinson (1981), Princess Sarah (1985), and Little Women (1987). Otani has done key animation for many Ghibli films since its founding including Castle in the Sky (1986), Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Princess Mononoke (1997), and The Wind Rises (2013). She has done key animation for many other films including several of the Naruto films (2004-2015), Magnetic Rose (1995), and Steamboy (2004). She helps instruct the trainees at Studio Ghibli.

Ocean Waves
Ocean Waves

Masako ShinoharaKey Animation

Masako Shinohara began her career at Toei Animation in the late 1960s, doing in-between animation for films like Jack and the Witch (1967) and Flying Phantom Ship (1969). Later, she worked as a key animator on Miyazaki’s directorial debut, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and would join Studio Ghibli upon its founding. Since 1986’s The Castle in the Sky, Shinohara has been animator for many of Miyazaki’s films, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Porco Rosso (1992), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). She passed away in 2015.

Ocean Waves
After the Storm

Yoko MakiActor

A native of Chiba, Yoko Maki debuted in 2001 in the film Drug. Her popularity rose after her role in the remake of Lady Snowblood titled The Princess Blade also in 2001. She has starred in films such as Summer Time Machine Blues (2005), Sway (2006), and Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo (2011). In 2013, she starred in The Ravine of Goodbye, for which she received Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, the Kinema Junpo Awards, the Nikkan Sports Film Awards, and the Yokohama Film Festival. The same year she appeared in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Hochi Film Awards and the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently she has starred in the films The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015), Poison Berry in My Brain (2015), and Kore-eda’s latest film After the Storm (2016).

After the Storm
After the Storm
Kirin Kiki

Kirin Kiki Actor

The daughter of a master biwa (lute) player, Kirin Kiki began her acting career in the 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe. She began acting regularly in film and television, gaining popularity for her comedic roles and often performing the role of an elderly woman in spite of her youth. Kiki has recently been highly recognized for her roles in such films as Hanochi (2004), Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008), Still Walking (2008), and Chronicle of My Mother (2014) for which she won Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently, she starred Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After the Storm (2016) and in Naomi Kawase’s An (2015), winning Best Actress at the 2016 Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Her most recent film is Mori, the Artist's Habitat (2018).

After the Storm
After the Storm

Keiko Mitsumatsu Production Designer

Keiko Mitsumatsu became interested in set design after doing some part-time acting work for commercials after high-school and later enrolled in the Nikkatsu Visual Arts Academy. Her early career includes credits on Naomi Kawase's Suzaku (1997) and Takashi Miike's The Bird People in China (1998). She began working with Hirokazu Kore-eda in 2001 and has since done production design and art direction for most of his films since, including Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008), Like Father, Like Son (2013), Our Little Sister (2015), and After the Storm (2016). She was nominated for Best Art Direction for Our Little Sister at the Awards of the Japanese Academy in 2016. She has also worked with the acclaimed director Miwa Nishikawa on her films Sway (2006), Dear Doctor (2009), Dreams for Sale (2012) and The Long Excuse (2016).

After the Storm
After the Storm

Kazuko KurosawaCostume Designer

An accomplished costume designer and daughter of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Kazuko Kurosawa is known for her work on The Twilight Samurai (2002), Still Walking (2008), Kiyosu Conference, After the Storm (2016), and most recently Shoplifters (2018).

After the Storm
EuroAsia Shorts 2018

Kana HatakeyamaDirector, Producer, & Actor

Kana Hatakeyama is an actor based in New York who has performed on stage, television, and film, including the Park's production of Julius Caesar a roles on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Orange is the New Black. Her directorial debut came in 2018 with okaasan (mom) for which she wrote, directed, and produced.

EuroAsia Shorts 2018
EuroAsia Shorts 2018

MadokaDirector & Animator

Born in Chiba, 1990. Graduated from Tokyo Zokei University, Department of Design, Animation Major in 2012 . Graduated from Tokyo University of Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation in 2016. She often creates work that is influenced by womanhood and witchery. Works include JINGIWIKI (2012) and GYRØ (2014).

EuroAsia Shorts 2018
Stray Dog
Keiko Awaji

Keiko AwajiActor
Image courtesy of Janus Films

Keiko Awaji's career in cinema spanned over six decades. Born in Tokyo in 1933, Keiko Awaji originally trained as a dancer before being recruited for film, making her debut in Akira Kurosawa's film, Stray Dog (1949). She acted in many films through the 1950s, receiving awards for Best Supporting Actress (Blue Ribbon Awards) for Kottaisan yori: Nyotai wa kanashiku and Shitamachi in 1957. She has appeared in such films as When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) and Inagaki's Chusingura (1962). Her final film was Mourning Recipe (2013) before she passed away in 2014.

Stray Dog
Number 16 - The Tetsuharu Kawakami Story
Michiyo Aratama

Michiyo AratamaActor
Photo: © 1957 Nikkatsu

Originally from Nara prefecture, Michiyo Aratama began her career in the Takarazuka Revue where she debuted on the stage in 1946 and became one of the top performers. Her first film performance came in 1951's period Hakama-dare Yasusuke and quickly became a highly sought-after actor. She starred in the hit film Suzaki Paradise (1957) and received Blue Ribbon and Kinema Junpo Awards for her role in the six-part epic, The Human Condition (1959-1961). She starred in other films such as Number 16 - The Tetsuharu Kawakami Story (1957), Enjo (1958), The End of Summer (1961), Kwaidan (1964), and Sword of Doom (1965). Aratama passed away in 2001.

Number 16 - The Tetsuharu Kawakami Story
In This Corner of the World

Atsuko Fukushima Key Animator

Atsuko Fukushima, from Osaka, is an animator and illustrator. She worked on such anime films as Space Adventure Cobra (1982), Golgo 13: The Professional (1983), and The Dagger of Kamui (1985). She has also done key animation for Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal film Akira (1988), Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), and segments in Memories (1995) and Genius Party (2006). She most recently contributed character designs for Giovanni’s Island (2014) and key animation for the award-winning film In This Corner of the World (2016).

In This Corner of the World
Close-Knit
Naoko Ogigami

Naoko OgigamiDirector

Naoko Ogigami studied film at University of Southern California. After receiving commercial and critical success with Kamome Diner (2006) and Glasses (2007), her film Toilet (2010) garnered her the 61st The Rookie Award of Art Encouragement from the Education Minister of Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. Her most recent films include Rent-a-Cat (2012) and Close-Knit (2017).

Close-Knit
Tremble All You Want
Akiko Ooku

Akiko OokuDirector

Akiko Ooku, graduated from Meiji University. After spending her life as a TV personality, she started career as a filmmaker. Her directorial debut was Igai to Shinanai (1999), and well known for Tokyo Serendipity (2007), Tokyo Nameless Girl's Story (2012), Tadaima, Jacqueline (2013), Monster, and Fantastic Girls Deeree Girls (2014).

Tremble All You Want
PARKS
Natsuki Seta

Natsuki SetaDirector

Natsuki Seta graduated from Yokohama National University as well as from Tokyo University of the Arts. Her first feature film A Liar and a Broken Girl was invited to Tokyo International Film Festival 2010, New York - Japan Cuts 2011, Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival 2011, and screened at Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris. Later Seta made an experimental project 5 windows by showing a film in five parts at different outdoor places. Also she has been directing TV commercials, mobile movies, web dramas and TV dramas.

PARKS
Au revoir l’été
Kiki Sugino

Kiki SuginoProducer / Actor
Photo ©Edmund Yeo

Born in Hiroshima to Korean parents, Kiki Sugino (born Seo Yeong Hwa) is a multitalented and unique figure in the Asian film industry.

Au revoir l’été
Au revoir l’été

Fumi NikaidoActor

Originally from Okinawa, Fumi Nikaido began her career modeling before her first film debut in 2009 in Toad’s Oil. Her breakthrough role came in Sion Sono’s powerful Himizu for which Fumi received the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival. She’s played in a variety of roles in a diverse line-up of films including The Warped Forest (2011), Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013), Mourning Recipe (2013), My Man (2014), and La La La at Rock Bottom (2015). She most recently starred in Scoop! and Somebody, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 41st Hochi Film Awards.

Au revoir l’été
Beautiful New Bay Area Project
Mao Mita

Mao MitaActor

An actress and dancer from Tokyo, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s short film Beautiful New Bay Area Project (2013) was Mao Mita’s first film. She has continued to appear in action films including Sion Sono’s Tokyo Tribe (2014) and Tag (2015).

Beautiful New Bay Area Project
Beautiful New Bay Area Project
Atsuko Maeda

Atsuko MaedaActor
Photo ©Dennis Amith

One of the most well-known members of the idol mega-group AKB48, Atsuko Maeda has had an active and diverse acting career alongside her singing career. In 2011, Atsuko received acclaim for her performance in Moshidora and again in 2012’s The Drudgery Train. She starred in Tamako in Moratorium (2013) and received Best Actress at the Japanese Professional Movie Awards. She went to star in such films as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Seventh Code (2013), Kabukicho Love Hotel (2015), Initiation Love (2015), and Mohican Comes Home (2016).

Seventh Code
The Actor
Satoko Yokohama

Satoko YokohamaDirector

Satoko Yokohama graduated from the Film School of Tokyo in 2004. She gathered attention for her independent debut film German Plus Rain (2007). In 2008, she directed her feature debut film Bare Essence of Life, which was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival and many other festivals. The film was highly acclaimed, with Kenichi Matsuyama winning the Best Actor at the Mainichi Film Awards.

The Actor
The Actor
Kumiko Aso

Kumiko AsoActor

A native of Chiba prefecture, Kumiko Aso began her career modeling and made her film debut in 1995’s Bad Guy Beach. She rose to fame after her appearance in Shohei Imamura’s Dr. Akagi (1998) for which she received the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Japan Academy Prize and the Hochi Film Awards. She went on to appear in such films as Pulse (2001), Casshern (2004), Nada Sou Sou (2006), Adrift in Tokyo (2007), Space Brothers (2012), and The Actor (2015). For her role in 2007’s Yunagi City, Sakura Country she received Best Actor at the Blue Ribbon Awards, Hochi Film Awards, and Mainichi Film Concurs. She also has voice acted in many anime films including Colorful (2010), Wolf Children (2012), and The Boy and the Beast (2015).

The Actor
Samurai Hustle
Kyoko Fukada

Kyoko FukadaActor

An Actor and singer from Tokyo, Kyoko Fukada began her acting career in television before making her film debut in Ring 2 (1999). Her next film, Shisha no Gakuensai (2000) garnered Fukada with Best New Talent awards at the Japanese Academy Awards and the Nikkan Sports Film Awards. She appeared in Takeshi Kitano’s visually stunning Dolls (2002) and then in 2004 she starred in the acclaimed Kamikaze Girls, receiving awards for Best Actor at the Mainichi Film Concurs and the Yokohama Film Festival. She has starred in other films such as Yatterman (2009), A Ghost of a Chance (2011), and Samurai Hustle (2014). Her most recent films include Joker Game (2015) and Samurai Hustle Returns (2016).

Samurai Hustle
The Actor

Kyoko KagawaInterviewee/Actor

A prolific actor from the Golden Age of Japanese cinema, Kyoko Kagawa originally aspired to become a dancer but fell into acting after winning a beauty contest. She went on to star in over 100 films in her career, including some of the most beloved and acclaimed Japanese films such as Mikio Naruse’s Ginza Cosmetics (1951), Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1952), Kinuyo Tanaka’s Love Letter (1953), and Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho the Bailiff (1954). She worked with Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune in The Lower Depths (1957), The Bad Sleep Well (1960), High and Low (1963), and Red Beard (1965). She also worked with Kurosawa on his final film, Madadayo (1993) for which she received Best Supporting Actor at the Japan Academy Awards and Blue Ribbon Awards. She received the Kinuyo Tanaka Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Mainichi Film Concurs in 1993, the Purple Medal of Honor in 1998, and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2004.

Mifune: The Last Samurai
Kakekomi

Masae MiyamotoCostume Designer

Born in Chiba prefecture, Masae Miyamoto began her career in Daiichi Icho, a costume company for film and television. She soon broke off and worked for herself, doing costume work for independent films and even producing a film, Zawa-zawa Shimo-kitazawa (2000). Some of the films she has worked on include Endless Waltz (1995), Hush! (2001), Mt. Tsurugidake (2009), Saya-Samurai (2010), Chronicle of My Mother (2011), Our Homeland (2012), It’s Me, It’s Me (2013), Ask This of Rikyu (2013), and The Emperor in August (2015). For Kakekomi (2015), she was nominated for Best Costume Designer.

Kakekomi
Kakekomi

Erika TodaActor

Erika Toda, originally from Kobe, began her career modeling and in television in the early 2000s. Her television career earned her much acclaim for her roles in such popular shows as Code Blue, Ryusei no Kizuna, and the Liar Game series. In 2006 she landed a role as Misa Amane in the live-action film adaptation of the wildly popular manga Death Note and its sequel the same year. She has starred in other films like Ten Nights of Dream (2007), Liar Game: The Final Stage (2010), Shizumanu Taiyo (2009), Hankyu Densha (2011), Kakekomi (2015), and The Emperor in August (2015). She will star in the upcoming Blade of the Immortal (2017) directed by Takashi Miike and based on the eponymous manga series.

Kakekomi
Kakekomi

Hikari MitsushimaActor

An actor and singer, Hikari Mitsushima began her acting and singing career in 1997, a member of the teen idol group Folder and the film Rebirth of Mothra II. She continued to focus on music and TV appearances before her film career took off, beginning with the live-action adaptation of the hit manga Death Note (2006) and its sequel. Her appearance in Sion Sono’s amibitious Love Exposure (2009) catapulted her into international fame, garnering her awards at the Fantasia Film Festival, Bucheon International Film Festival, Hochi Film Awards, Kinema Junpo Awards, Mainichi Film Concurs, and the Yokohama Film Festival. She has since gone to star in several unique and challenging films, including Sawako Decides (2009), Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (2010), Villain (2010), Takashi Miike’s Hara-Kiri (2011), The End of Summer (2013), and Kakekomi (2015). Her most recent film is 2016’s Rage, based on the novel by Shuichi Yoshida.

Kakekomi
Kakekomi

Harumi FukiMusic Composer

Harumi Fuki was born in Osaka and started studying piano at the age of four and composition at the age of twelve. She graduated from Kunitachi College of Music and where she participated in and won many prizes in competitions, including the 26th Gen-on Composer Competition, 16th Tokyo Chamber Music International Composition Prize, Percussion Museum Competition, and TIAA Japan Composer Competition. She has been composing music for film and television and gained her reputation as an international composer with Masato Harada’s Chronicle of My Mother (2011) won second prize at Montreal World Film Festival in 2011 and was nominated for Best Score at the Japan Academy Awards. She has since composed for two other of Harada’s films, The Emperor in August (2015) and Kakekomi (2015), as well as the acclaimed animated film, Miss Hokusai (2015). She also composed the music for the wildly popular TV series, Massan from 2014 to 2015.

Kakekomi | Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai

Megumi KagawaAnimator

A veteran animator that has worked on nearly every Studio Ghibli film, Megumi Kagawa (sometimes billed as Ai Kagawa), began her career in television in the early 1980s. In 1984 she joined the production for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as animator and has been on the Studio Ghibli team ever since. She has worked as animator (Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, Miss Hokusai, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Spirited Away, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya), animation director (Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Arrietty) and key animator (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill, The Wind Rises, When Marnie Was There). In addition she has done key animation for other acclaimed films such as Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (2003), The Boy and the Beast (2015), and Miss Hokusai (2015).

Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai

Miho MaruoScreenwriter

Born in 1958, Miho Maruo has been an active screenwriter for animated works on television and in film. Her career began in television, writing for such popular shows as Sasae-san, Doraemon (1981-1997), Kaibutsu-kun (1982), Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985-1986), Osomatsu-kun (1988-1989), Sally the Witch 2 (1989-1991), Chibi Maruko-chan (1990-1991), and later popular series like Nodame Cantabile (2007, 2010), Dinosaur King (2007-2008), and Kaidan Restaurant (2009-2010). The first film she wrote screenplay for was the Keiichi Hara directed spin-off of the beloved Doraemon series in 1991's Wow, The Kid Gang of Bandits, followed by another installment in A Blue Straw Hat (1994). In 2010, she wrote the screenplay for Colorful and was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2011 Tokyo Anime Awards. She collaborate again with Hara on the biographical live-action film Hajimari no Michi (2013) about the life of Japanese filmmaker, Keisuke Kinoshita, as well as co-authoring a novel with Hara based on his film Summer Days with Coo. They most recently collaborated on the critically acclaimed film Miss Hoksuai (2015).

Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai

Asako NishikawaProducer

A graduate of Keio University and producer for Bandai Visual, Asako Nishikawa grew up knowing she wanted to work in films, writing scripts and acting them out with her high school friends. More than creating movies however, Asako wanted to help share films and have as many people enjoy them as possible. After a study abroad to New York, Asako returned to Japan and worked on the production staff of Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Nobody Knows (2004) and later Still Walking (2008) and Air Doll (2009). Other films she has produced include Drops in Your Hand (2014), Miss Hokusai (2015), Good Stripes (2015), There is No Lid on the Sea (2015), Mohican Go Home (2016), and most recently Long Excuses (2016), written and directed by Miwa Nishikawa.

Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai

Anne WatanabeVoice Actor
(Credited as An)

A model, actor, and singer, Anne Watanabe (often known simply as “Anne”), made her film debut in 2008’s The Cherry Orchard: Blossoming. She has appeared in TV and film, including such movies as Welcome Home, Hayabusa (2012), 2013’s Platinum Data and Midsummer’s Equation (for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Hochi Film Awards), Time Scoop Hunter (2013), Lost and Found (2015), and Miss Hokusai (2015). She was most recently in Golden Orchestra! (2016).

Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai

Masako SatoAssistant Director

An artist and director, Masako Sato has worked on several high-profile films, including key animation for Summer Wars (2009) and The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) and other animation work for Studio Ghibli on Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). She has recently been director for television and was Assistant Director for Keiichi Hara’s Miss Hokusai (2015).

Miss Hokusai
Double Suicide
Taeko Tomioka

Taeko TomiokaScreenplay

An award-winning novelist, poet, and screenwriter Taeko Tomioka’s career has spanned over fifty years. She graduated from Osaka Women’s College in English literature and has translated several of Getrude Stein’s works into Japanese. Her most well-known works include Facing the Hill They Stand (1971), The Sound of Rose Burning (1971), and The Family in Hades (1974). In film, she collaborated with eclectic director Masahiro Shinoda, writing and co-writing for his films Double Suicide (1969), Himiko (1974), Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (1975), and Gonza the Spearman (1986).

Double Suicide
Double Suicide
Shima Iwashita

Shima IwashitaActor

Born in Tokyo, Shima Iwashita was brought up in a family of actors (both her parents were actors in the Shingeki Theatre and her uncle was part of a modern Kabuki troupe called the Zenshinza). Her film debut came in 1960 where she played Ume in Keisuke Kinoshita’s The River Fuefuki (1960). She landed a small role in Yasujiro Ozu’s Late Autumn the same year and was again cast in Ozu’s final film, Late Autumn (1962). She has starred in some of the most memorable films since the 1960s including Harakiri (1962), Sword of the Beast (1965), Silence (1971), Himiko (1974), and The Demon (1978), Onimasa (1982), MacArthur’s Children (1984), Childhood Days (1990), Owls’ Castle (1999), among many others. She has received numerous awards for Best Actor for such films as The Scarlet Camellia (1965), The River Kino (1967), Portrait of Chieko (1967), Double Suicide (1969), The Ballad of Orin (1977), and Gonza the Spearman (1986). She is married to director Masahiro Shinoda.

Double Suicide
EuroAsia Shorts 2017
Atsuko Hirayanagi

Atsuko HirayanagiDirector

Atsuko Hirayanagi was born in Nagano and raised in Chiba, Japan. She is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of The Arts with an MFA in Film Production. Her second year project, MO IKKAI, won the Grand Prix at the 2012 Short Shorts Film Festival in Asia. Her thesis film, OH LUCY! received a First Prize Wasserman Award and also won more than 30 awards around the globe, including prizes at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto film festivals. She is currently in post-production on the feature-length version of OH LUCY!, which she also wrote and directed, starring Shinobu Terajima, Kaho Minami, Koji Yakusho, and Josh Hartnett. The feature film script is the recipient of the 2016 Sundance / NHK Award.

Oh Lucy!
EuroAsia Shorts 2017
Maho Yoshida

Maho YoshidaDirector/Animator

Born in Tokyo. Graduated at Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine arts, Department of Design in 2010. Graduated at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation in 2012.

Recruit Rhapsody
The Genealogy of Sake
Kaori Ishii

Kaori Ishii Director

Kaori Ishii's first documentary film, Sorry Grandma (2005) won the first prize at the Osaka Abeno Human Documentary Film Festival. Her next one, Chain of Life – The Artistry of Mokuhanzome Kimono (2006), depicted Japan’s oldest dyeing technique and was screened in many festivals around the world. She also worked as an assistant to Sumiko Haneda, who is one of the most famous documentary filmmakers in Japan. She went on to direct for television before producing her next film, A Handful of Salt (2011) which received the Best Cinematography prize at Cebu International Documentary Film Festival. Her latest film is The Genealogy of Saké (2015) about sake brewers of the Noto peninsula.

The Genealogy of Saké
Robot Carnival

Atsuko Fukushima Character Design & Key Animation

Atsuko Fukushima, from Osaka, is an animator and illustrator. She worked on such anime films as Space Adventure Cobra (1982), Golgo 13: The Professional (1983), and The Dagger of Kamui (1985). She has also done key animation for Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal film Akira (1988), Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), and segments in Memories (1995) and Genius Party (2006). She most recently contributed character designs to the 2014 award-winning film Giovanni’s Island.

Robot Carnival
The Genealogy of Sake

Kiyomi Fujii Screenwriter

Kiyomi Fujii is an writer and actor from Tokushima prefecture. After graduating from Tsukuba University she joined the Seinen-za Theater Company. In 2000 she debuted on the award winning television drama series The Last 10 Months and continues to act and write for television. She started writing for film with 2004’s Believer and has written and co-written screenplays for Death Note: L Change the World (2008), Listen to My Heart (2009), the entire Rurouni Kenshin live-action trilogy (2012-2014), and most recently the film Museum (2016).

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy
The Genealogy of Sake
Yu Aoi

Yu Aoi Actor

An actor and model, Yu Aoi made her film debut in the highly-acclaimed film All About Lily Chou-Chou in 2001. She would go on to garner numerous awards for her lead roles in Hana and Alice (2004), Hula Girls (2004), and Honey & Clover (2006) as well as supporting actor nominations for Her Brother (2010) and Tokyo Family (2013). In 2009, she was named Rookie of the Year by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for her continued work in film. In 2015, she reprised her role as Alice in the animated prequel The Case of Hana & Alice (2015) as well as appearing in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Journey to the Shore (2015). Her most recent films include Yoji Yamada’s What a Wonderful Family! (2016), Haruko Azumi is Missing (2016), and the upcoming Tokyo Ghoul (2017) and Bird Without Names (2017).

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy
The Genealogy of Sake
Emi Takei

Emi Takei Actor
Photo © Dick Thomas Johnson

Emi Takei is a model and actor who hails from Nagoya. Active in television and commercials, her film debut came in the 2008 remake of Sakura no Sono, based on a popular manga. In 2012 she starred in the eclectic Takashi Miike’s musical romance film For Love’s Sake, the drama film Love for Beginners, as well as starring in the live-action adaptation of the popular Rurouni Kenshin series. She was nominated for Newcomer of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards the following year. Her most recent films include Terraformers (2016) and the latest Yo-kai Watch film.

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy
The Genealogy of Sake

Maryjun Takahashi Actor

From Shiga prefecture, Maryjun Takahashi is a Japanese-Filipino actor and model. She has appear on such television series as Jun to Ai (2012), Rich Man, Poor Woman (2013), Zannen na Otto (2015), and Hibana (2016). She made her film debut in Fashion Story: Model (2012) and has appeared in several of the film versions of Ushijima the Loan Shark (2014-2016). Her other appearances include the final two installments of the live-action Rurouni Kenshin films (2014) and Sion Sono’s Tag (2015) and Psychic Virgins (2015). She most recently appeared in the film The Blue Hearts (2017).

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy
The Genealogy of Sake

Tao Tsuchiya Actor

Tao Tsuchiya’s acting career began with a commercial for a video game in 2007, Capcom’s We Love Golf!, and the following year she made her film debut in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s hit film Tokyo Sonata. She has starred in Arcana (2013), Orange (2015), Aozora Yell (2016), and will star in the upcoming films Tori Girl!, The 8-Year Engagement, and My Little Monster. For Orange (2015), she received the Newcomer of the Year Award at the Japanese Academy Awards.

Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy
Magic Boy

Kazuko Nakamura Animator

Kazuko Nakamura joined Nichido in 1956, just before it was renamed Toei Animation. She worked as an in-between animator on Toei’s first feature films, Hakujaden (1958) and Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke (1959). Nakamura later left Toei to join Mushi Pro, the animation studio founded by Tezuka Osamu. She worked on many of their early series, including animation for Astro Boy (1963) and later as animation director for Princess Knight (1967-68). She was the head animator for two of their adventurous Animerama feature films aimed at adults: A Thousand and One Nights (1969) and Cleopatra (1970).

Magic Boy
Magic Boy

Reiko Okuyama Animator

Reiko Okuyama join Toei soon after their founding and was quickly recognized for her talent. She did in-between animation and worked on Toei’s first animated feature films, Hakujaden (1958), Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke (1959), Saiyuki (1960), and then worked as an animator on later films including Little prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963) and Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968) alongside Hayao Miyazaki. Her last film with Toei was the third Puss in Boots film in 1978, although she contributed to another Toei film in 1979 (Taro the Dragon Boy). After leaving Toei, she became a children’s book illustrator and taught animation at the Tokyo Designer Academy. She worked on a handful of other animation films including Grave of the Fireflies (1988), The Restaurant of Many Orders (1991), and Winter Days (2003). She passed away in 2007.

Magic Boy
Their Distance

Fumiko Aoyagi Actor

Fumiko Aoyagi is a model and actor from Oita prefecture. She has collaborated with director Rikiya Imaizumi on several of his short- and feature-length films, including Saitei (2009), Ashide (2011), Sad Tea (2014), and Their Distance (2015).

Their Distance
Their Distance

Haruka Kinami Actor

Haruka Kinami is a model, singer, and actor. She joined the idol group TV-Asahi Angel Eye and later Licca in 2002. She appeared in several TV dramas and variety shows and in 2009 appeared in the critically acclaimed film 20th Century Boys. She has appeared in Tug of War (2012), Clover (2014), Their Distance (2016), Himitsu – Top Secret (2016) and Good Morning Show (2016).

Their Distance
NYJCF 2017
Naoko Hara

Naoko Hara Animator (The Shining Star of Losers Everywhere)

Born and raised in Tokyo, Naoko ventured to NYC to expand her horizons. With a BFA in Design and Motion Graphics from the School of Visual Arts, she has a flair for typography and design that has attracted the attention of studios and directors.

NYJCF 2017
NYJCF 2017

Mizuki Kiyama Director/Animator (Double Eyes)

Mizuki Kiyama, graduated from Kanazawa College of Art with major in oil paintings in 2015.

NYJCF 2017
NYJCF 2017

Shizuka Abe Director/Animator (In The Clock)

Shizuka Abe learned animation while in school. She works as a salesperson in a snack shop and makes animation films while working.

NYJCF 2017
NYJCF 2017

Miyuki Fukuda Director/Animator (Complex x Complex)

Miyuki Fukuda, born in Gunma, Japan in 1987. Fukuda got into drawing at an early age and directed a few short animation films in college. She moved to Tokyo after graduating from Kanazawa Gakuin University and worked on animation and illustration.

NYJCF 2017
NYJCF 2017

Keiko Matsushita Producer (Pigtails)

Born in Fukushima prefecture in 1982, Matsushita is one of the rare female producers working in the Japanese animation industry. She joined studio Production I.G in 2005, and debuted as a producer in Hiroyuki Okiura's A Letter to Momo (2012), on which she worked for seven years. After acting as animation producer in a number of TV series, Matsushita took on her second feature film, Miss Hokusai (2015) directed by Keiichi Hara, for which she personally hand-picked the creative staff around the director. For Pigtails, that is inheriting much of the Miss Hokusai team in a completely different visual style, she is combining her ability in creating chemistry among individual talents, and her personal involvement with a story addressing to the dramatic events that affected her home region.

NYJCF 2017
Kimba the White Lion

Yoshiko Ota Voice Actor (Kimba/Leo)

After graduating from middle school, Yoshiko Ota joined the Takarazuka Revue, the all-female musical theater group, in 1951. After several years she left and joined other troupes before settling in the Theatre Echo group. In the 1960s, she performed a variety of roles as a voice actress in many of Tezuka Osamu’s early TV shows including the voice of Leo in Jungle Emperor Leo (1965, aka Kimba the White Lion), Princess Sapphire in Princess Knight (1967), as well as many other popular characters like Akko in Himitsu no Akko-chan (1969), Nobita in the first series of Doraemon (1973), and Tanpei in Time Bokan (1975). Most recently she voice the character of Legend Queen in Maho Girls PreCure (2016).

Kimba the White Lion
Throne of Blood
Isuzu Yamada

Isuzu Yamada Actor (Lady Asaji)

Isuzu Yamada (born Mitsu Yamada) was a prolific actor whose career began in the 1930s. Born in 1917 in Osaka to a family of performers, Yamada joined Nikkatsu in 1930. She debuted in Ken o Koete (1930) and appeared in numerous films throughout the decade including roles in Kenji Mizoguchi’s Osaka Elegy (1936) and Sisters of Gion (1936). After the end of the war, Yamada continued appearing in major films such as Gendai-jin (1962), for which she received Best Actress at the Mainichi Film Concurs and the Blue Ribbon Awards, and Hienosuke Gosho’s Takekurabe (1955), receiving Best Supporting Actress awards. She worked with Japans’ top directors such as Mikio Naruse (Nagareru, 1956), Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Twilight, 1957), Masaki Kobayashi (Black River, 1957), and Akira Kurosawa (Throne of Blood, 1957; The Lower Depths, 1957; Yojimbo, 1960). She acted in many period dramas on television and one of her final film performances was in Suspicion (1982). She was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 1993, received a lifetime achievement award in 1995 from the Japan Academy, as well as the Order of Culture in 2000. Isuzu Yamada passed away in 2012.

Throne of Blood
Galaxy Express 999

Masako Nozawa Voice Actor (Tetsuro Hoshino)

Actor, voice actor, and singer, Masako Nozawa first began acting while in middle student as part of a theater troupe. After high school she moved to Tokyo to pursue acting seriously. She made her debut in animation as a guest voice actor in the seminal series Astro Boy (1963). Her first major role was as Shinichi in Obake no Qtaro (1965-67) followed by Kitaro in the first two series of GeGeGe Kitaro (1968-69, 71-72) based on the popular manga by Shigeru Mizuki. She also voiced Testuro Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999. Her most well-known and beloved role that she continues play is as Son Goku and Son Gohan in the widely popular and influential Dragon Ball series. She received the Achievement Award at the Seiyu Awards in 2013 and Best Voice Actor at the 2017 Japan Movie Critics Awards. The same year she earned two Guinness World Records for her work as Son Goku in the Dragon Ball video games. She was recognized as “voice actor who voiced the same character in a video game for the longest period” and “longest video game voice acting career.”

Galaxy Express 999
Sweet Bean
Naomi Kawase

Naomi Kawase Director

Born and raised in Nara, Naomi Kawase's early films, Embracing and Katatsumori received international recognitions and awards at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in 1995. With her first feature, Suzaku (1997), she became the youngest filmmaker to receive the Camera d’Or at the Festival de Cannes. Also at Cannes, she won the Grand Prix for The Mourning Forest (2007), the Carrosse d'Or in 2009, and also served as one of the jurors for the competition in 2013. In 2015, Kawase was bestowed with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Aside from being a filmmaker, she is the founder and Executive Director for the Nara International Film Festival.

Sweet Bean
Sweet Bean
Kirin Kiki

Kirin Kiki Actor (Tokue)

The daughter of a master biwa (lute) player, Kirin Kiki began her acting career in the 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe. She began acting regularly in film and television, gaining popularity for her comedic roles and often performing the role of an elderly woman in spite of her youth. Kiki has recently been highly recognized for her roles in such films as Hanochi (2004), Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008), Still Walking (2008), and Chronicle of My Mother (2014) for which she won Best Actor at the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently, she starred Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After the Storm (2016) and in Naomi Kawase’s An (2015), winning Best Actor at the 2016 Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Sweet Bean
Sweet Bean

Kyoko Heya Art Direction

Originally from Hiroshima, Kyoko Heya graduated from Musashino Art University. Her first credited role as part of the art staff was in 1984’s Watashi no Naka no Shofu. She worked on Paul Schraders Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), and Akira Kuorsawa’s Dreams (1990) and Rhapsody in August (1991). Heya began collaborating with director Masayuki Suo as art director in 1992’s Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t (1992). She received awards for Best Art Direction for Shall We Dance? (1996) and I Just Didn’t Do It (2006), also directed by Suo. She has worked on other films including Maborosi (1995), Spellbound (1999), and Onmyoji (2001) for which she also received Best Art Direction award at the Japan Academy Awards. Her most recent work as art director include Sweet Bean (2015) and The Bride of Rip Van Winkle (2016).

Sweet Bean
Sweet Bean

Ai (Megumi) Kagawa Animator

A veteran animator that has worked on nearly every Studio Ghibli film, Megumi Kagawa (sometimes billed as Ai Kagawa), began her career in television in the early 1980s for such series as Magical Girl Lalabel (1980), Ikkyu-san (1980-82), Adventures of the Little Koala (1984). Her first film was in Toei Animation’s Swan Lake (1981) followed by The Last Unicorn (1983). In 1984 she joined the production for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as animator and has been on the Studio Ghibli team ever since. She has worked as animator (Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Spirited Away, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya), animation director (Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, The Secret World of Arrietty) and key animator (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill, The Wind Rises, When Marnie Was There). In addition she has done key animation for other acclaimed films such as Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (2003), The Boy and the Beast (2015), and Miss Hokusai (2015).

Castle in the Sky
Sweet Bean

Atsuko Otani Animator

A veteran of Studio Ghibli, Atsuko Otani began in television, doing animation for several literary adaptations for television including Swiss Family Robinson (1981), Princess Sarah (1985), and Little Women (1987). Otani has done key animation for many Ghibli films since its founding including Castle in the Sky (1986), Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Princess Mononoke (1997), and The Wind Rises (2013). She has done key animation for many other films including several of the Naruto films (2004-2015), Magnetic Rose (1995), and Steamboy (2004). She helps instruct the trainees at Studio Ghibli.

Castle in the Sky
Sweet Bean

Masako Shinohara Animator

Masako Shinohara began her career at Toei Animation in the late 1960s, doing in-between animation for films like Jack and the Witch (1967) and Flying Phantom Ship (1969). Later, she worked as a key animator on Miyazaki’s directorial debut, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and would join Studio Ghibli upon its founding. Since 1986’s Castle in the Sky, Shinohara has been animator for many of Miyazaki’s films, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Porco Rosso (1992), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). She passed away in 2015.

Castle in the Sky
Sweet Bean

Atsuko Tanaka Voice Actor

A voice actor in film, television, and video games, Atsuko Tanaka originally planned to be a stage performer until she was introduced to voice acting by a fellow actor. She enrolled in Tokyo Announce-Seiyu Academy and began a very prolific career. She is well known for dubbing the voices of some of Hollywood's biggest stars such as Gwenyth Paltrow, Kate Beckingsdale, and Nicole Kidman. In animation, her most memorable role is that of Makoto Kusanagi, the protagonist of the critically acclaimed film, Ghost in the Shell (1995), its sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), and the televsion series. Some of her other memorable characters include Caster from the Fate/Stay Night and Lisa Lisa in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Ghost in the Shell
Our Little Sister

Keiko Mitsumatsu Production Designer

Keiko Mitsumatsu became interested in set design after doing some part-time acting work for commercials after high-school and later enrolled in the Nikkatsu Visual Arts Academy. Her early career includes credits on Naomi Kawase's Suzaku (1997) and Takashi Miike's The Bird People in China (1998). She began working with Hirokazu Kore-eda in 2001 and has since done production design and art direction for most of his films since, including Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008), Like Father, Like Son (2013), Our Little Sister (2015), and After the Storm (2016). She was nominated for Best Art Direction for Our Little Sister at the Awards of the Japanese Academy in 2016. She has also worked with the acclaimed director Miwa Nishikawa on her films Sway (2006), Dear Doctor (2009), Dreams for Sale (2012) and The Long Excuse (2016).

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister

Haruka Ayase Actor

A model and actor from Hiroshima, Haruka Ayase made her acting debut on television in 2001's Kindaichi Shonen no Jikembo II SP with her first starring role in the television version of Crying Out in the Center of the World (2004). Her major film breakthrough came in 2008 when she starred in severa hit films including Cyborg She, Ichi, and Happy Flight. For these roles she received Best Actor award at the Nikkan Sports Film Awards. In 2015 she starred in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Our Little Sister and received Best Actor at the Mainichi Film Concurs and the Nikkan Sports Film Awards and was nominated at the Awards of the Japanese Academy and Asian Film Awards. Her most recent films are Fueled: The Man They Called 'Pirate' (2016) and Honnouji Hotel (2017).

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister

Masami Nagasawa Actor

An actor and model, Masami Nagasawa began her acting career at age thirteen in Crossfire (2000). In 2003 she starred in Robot Contest and received Best New Talent at the Awards of the Japanese Academy. The follow year she received the award for Best Supporting Actor for Crying Out in the Center of the World (2004) at the Awards of the Japanese Academy, Blue Ribbon Awards, and Hochi Film Awards. She went on to star in many hit films including Touch (2005), Nada Sou Sou (2006), I Wish (2011), and Wood Job! (2014). She also had a role in Our Little Sister (2015) for which she received Best Supporting Actor at the Mainichi Film Concurs. She has also done voice acting for animated films including La Maison en Petits Cubes (2008), From Up On Poppy Hill (2011), and Your Name (2016). Her most recent roles include Gin Tama (2017), and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Before We Vanish (2017).

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister

Suzu Hirose Actor

An actor and model, Suzu Hirose’s first film was Shazai no Osama (2013). She rose to fame after starring in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s 2015 Our Little Sister where she played the eponymous role alongside Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, and Kaho. For this film, she received numerous Newcomer awards at the Hochi Film Awards, the Kinema Junpo Awards, the Yokohama Film Festival, and the Japan Academy Prize. Most recently she starred in the hit thriller film Rage directed by Lee Sang-Il. She also starred as the main character, Chihaya Ayase, in the hit film versions of Chihayafuru in 2016 and will reprise the role in an upcoming sequel in 2018.

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister
Kaho

Kaho Actor

Kaho made her debut in A Gentle Breeze in the Village (2007) for which she received the Best Newcomer prize at the Yokohama Film Festival as well as Rookie of the Year at the Awards of the Japanese Academy. She has also starred in Tokyo Girl (2008), Sing, Salmon, Sing! (2008), Time Scoop Hunter (2013), Puzzle (2014), and Pink and Grey (2015), and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Our Little Sister (2015). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Our Little Sister. Her most recent film was Tokyo Vampire Hotel (2017) directed by Sion Sono.

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister

Kaoru Matsuzaki Producer

A television and film producer, Kaoru Matsuzaki is a graduate of the International Christian University. She began her career with Sony and is currently with Fuji Television. She has been a producer for such films as Oh! Oku (2006), Honokaa Boy (2009), Mt. Tsurugidake (2009), Thermae Romae (2012), Like Father, Like Son (2013), and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s most recent films Our Little Sister (2015) and After the Storm (2016).

Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister

Yoko Kanno Music

Yoko Kanno is a composer and musician who has scored soundtracks for many films and television series. She is best known for composing the music for Cowboy Bebop (1998-99) including the theme song "Tank!" which was performed by Kanno and her band, Seatbelts. She has won several awards for her music in television anime series such as Tokyo Anime Award for Best Music for Wolf's Rain (2003), Ghost in the Shell: SAC (2002), and Macross Frontier (2008). She has also scored for many acclaimed live-action and animated films, including Jin-Roh (1999), Escaflowne (2000), Kamikaze Girls (2004), Honey and Clover (2006), and Our Little Sister (2015) for which she received a nomination for Best Music Score at the 2016 Awards of the Japanese Academy. She most recently scored for the film Blame! (2017) and the TV series Naotora: The Lady Warlord (2017).

Our Little Sister
One Million Yen Girl
Yuki Tanada

Yuki TanadaDirector

Born 1975 in Fukuoka, Yuki Tanada graduated from the Japan Institute of the Moving Image with a degree in 8 mm filmmaking.

One Million Yen Girl
One Million Yen Girl
Yu Aoi

Yu AoiActor

Born August 17, 1985 in Fukuoka, Aoi made her acting debut in 1998 and her film debut in 2001. With Sang-il Lee's Hula Girls (2006), Aoi won Best Supporting Actor at Japan Academy Prize, Best Actor at the 49th edition of Blue Ribbon Awards, and many other awards. In 2009, she was awarded the Rookie of the Year for continued performances in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

One Million Yen Girl
One Million Yen Girl

Kumi KobataProducer

Kumi Kobata has produced many films by Japanese women directors such as Naoko Ogigami, Mika Omori, Koto Nagata, and Yuki Tanada. After producing Ogigami’s film Megane in 2007, she founded the production company Suurkiitos, Inc.

One Million Yen Girl
One Million Yen Girl

Koko MaedaProducer

Film producer Koko Maeda originally wanted to make films overseas and worked for airline and entertainment companies as an interpreter. She began her film career as an assistant producer for Shunji Iwai’s Swallowtail Butterfly (1996) followed by About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Hana and Alice (2004). She even worked as an associate producer for Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004).

One Million Yen Girl
Princess Arete
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Eiko TanakaPresident/Producer

After participating in theatrical movies "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) and "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989 ) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, as a line producer at Studio Ghibli, Eiko Tanaka founded STUDIO4℃.

Princess Arete
Princess Arete

Yukiko Mishima - Voice of AreteVoice Actor

A versatile voice Actor, Houko Kuwashima has worked extensively in various mediums from television, film, video games, and music. She made her debut in the Sailor Moon series in 1995 and the following year gained popularity for her role as Yurika Misumaru in Martian Successor Nadesico. Houko most recently appeared in the Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark in 2014.

Princess Arete
Princess Arete

Minami Takayama - Voice of AmpleVoice Actor

Minami Takayama is a voice Actor and singer and who is probably best known for her roles as Kiki and Ursula in Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). She has had other roles in popular series such as Ranma ½, Cooking Papa, and Yu Yu Hakusho. Since 1996, her longest running role in both television and film has been that of the voice of Conan Edogawa in the popular Detective Conan series.

Princess Arete
Neko Samurai ~Samurai ❤ Cat~

Misako RenbutsuActor

From Tottori prefecture, Misako made her mark early when she was awarded the Grand Prix at the Super Heroine Audition “Miss Phoenix” contest in 2005. Her first two first, Battery (2007) and Tenkosei (2007) garnered her the Best Actor award at the 22nd Tanizaki Film Festival and the 81st Kinema Junpo’s Best Ten. Her most recent appearances have been in The Snow White Murder Case (2014) and The Emperor in August (2015).

Neko Samurai ~Samurai ❤ Cat~
Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro

Masako ShinoharaKey Animator

A veteran of Studio Ghibli, Masako Shinohara was an animator with the studio since its beginnings. She was often in charge of scenes of daily life as well as designs for the film’s female characters. She was key animator for some Ghibli’s most memorable films including Whisper of the Heart (1995), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). She passed away in August of 2015.

Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro
Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro

Atsuko TanakaKey Animator

A highly talented animator, Atsuko Tanaka, originally an animator for Telecom, has been very active since she first worked on Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979. Praised by Yasuo Otsuka, a veteran of Ghibli, as being a “natural-born animator”, Atsuko has been key animator on many major films including recently: From Up on Poppy Hill (2011), The Wind Rises (2013), and the recently-released The Boy and the Beast (2015).

Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro
A Stitch of Life
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Yukiko MishimaDirector

From an early age, Yukiko had a strong interest in filmmaking and made her first films as a teenager.

A Stitch of Life
A Stitch of Life
Miki Nakatani

Miki NakataniActor

Miki Nakatani became well known after her work in "Ring" (1998). Her role in "Memories of Matsuko" (2006) won her Best Actor at the Hochi Film Awards, Kinema Junpo Awards, Japan Academy Prize, Mainichi Film Concurs, and Asian Film Awards. Most recently she has starred in "A Stitch of Life" and "Foujita".

A Stitch of Life
A Stitch of Life

Haru KurokiActor

Haru Kuroki made her film debut in 2011 with Made in Japan: Kora! and Tokyo Oasis. In 2013, she received recognition for her roles in The Great Passage and A Chair on the Plains winning Best New Talent Awards at the Nikkan Sports Film Awards, Kinema Junpo’s Best Ten, Yokohama Film Festival, the Japan Academy Prize, the Blue Ribbon Awards, and the Japan Film Critics Award. She gained international recognition when she was awarded the Best Actor Award (Silver Bear) at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival for her role in The Little House (2013), for which she also received Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2015 Japanese Academy Awards.

A Stitch of Life
A Stitch of Life

Kimiko YoActor

Acting since the late 1980's, Kimiko Yo has recently come into her own. This Japanese-Taiwanese Actor has won awards for Best Supporting Actor (Yokohama Film Festival, Japan Academy Prize) for Departures (2008), Best Supporting Actor (Japan Acadmey Prize) for Dear Doctor (2009), Dearest (2012); and was nominated as Nominated for Best Actor (Japan Academy Prize) for A Tale of Samurai Cooking (2013), in addition to many other recognitions. Recently, she starred in A Stitch of Life (2015) and is working on Gosaigyo no Onna (2016).

A Stitch of Life
A Stitch of Life

Kimie KurotakiArt Direction

Kimie Kurotaki began in the art department for of the Shiki Theatre Company, one of the largest theater troupes in Japan. Since moving into the film world, she has been the art director for films such as Sue, Mai, and Sawa: Righting the Girl Ship (2012), Twilight: Saya in Sasara (2014), and A Drop in the Grapevine (2014). For her work on The Kiyosu Conference (2013) she and Yohei Tanaka were nominated for Best Art Direction at the 2014 Japanese Academy Awards. The most recent film she worked on was Teacher and Stray Cat (2015).

A Stitch of Life
EFF: The Tale of Iya
Rina Takeda

Rina TakedaActor

A black-belt in karate, Rina Takeda had her first cinematic-breakthrough in High Kick Girl! (2009). Her performance in the comedy/horror film Dead Sushi (2012) would win her the Best Actor Award at the 2013 Austin Fantastic Fest and Best Action Actor at the 2013 Japan Action Awards. For her role in The Tale of Iya (2013), Takeda received Most Promising Actor Award at the Japan Film Professional Awards. She also received the Kunoichi Award, named for Japan’s most famous female ninja, at the Iga Ninja Film Festival in 2015. Most recently she starred in Kagura-Me (2015) for which she received Best Actor at the Los Angeles Japan Film Festival.

EFF: The Tale of Iya
Lady Maiko
Mone Kamishiraishi

Mone KamishiraishiActress

Originally from Kagoshima, Mone Kamishiraishi made her stage debut when she won a special jury prize at the 7th Toho Cinderella Auditions in 2011. Her acting debut came in 2012 on the TV drama Bunshin and her first film appearance was in 2012’s Sorairo Monogatari. For her role in Lady Maiko in 2014 she received several awards including the Best New Actress prize at the 2014 Fumiko Yamaji Film Awards and the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Japan Academy Awards. She is in the upcoming films Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku & Shimo no Ku and Oboreru Knife.

Lady Maiko
FusÉ: Memoirs of a Huntress
Minako Kotobuki

Minako KotobukiVoice Actress

A versatile performer, Minako Kotobuki has had success as an actress, voice actress, and singer.
Her voice acting and singing career took off after her role as Tsumugi Kotobuki in the popular TV anime series K-On! for which she also sang in both the opening and ending theme songs. She has since worked extensively as a voice actress in TV and video games as well as appearing in many anime films such as Redline (2009), K-On! The Movie (2011), Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning (2012), and the Berserk Golden Age Arc films (2012-2013).

FusÉ: Memoirs of a Huntress
FusÉ: Memoirs of a Huntress
Michiru Oshima

Michiru OshimaComposer

Michiru Oshima is a Japanese composer from Nagasaki that has written music for a variety of media including film, television, and theater. She has also written many original works that have been performed by classical artists such as Hilary Hahn, Pierre Lenert, and the Ravel Quartet. Her awards include the Mainichi Film Contest Award for Best Music, and the 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th and 30th Japanese Academy Award for Music, the Best Composer Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival in 2007, Best Music at the 2005 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and the Tokyo Anime Award for Best Music in 2006.

FusÉ: Memoirs of a Huntress
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Mami SunadaDirector, Cinematographer, Editor

Born in 1978, Mami Sunada studied documentary filmmaking while at Keio University before apprenticing as a director’s assistant under Hirokazu Kore-eda and others. Her directorial debut, DEATH OF A JAPANESE SALESMAN (2011), a documentary about her father’s last days after being diagnosed with cancer, garnered numerous first-time director awards. The film’s revenue also surpassed 100 million yen at the box office, exceptional for a documentary. Her latest film is THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS (2013).

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
When Marnie Was There

Rie MatsubaraEditor

After graduating from Tokyo Visual Arts, Rie Matsubara worked for Takeshi Seyama, a well-known editor known for his work at Studio Ghibli. She worked as an assistant editor on such films as Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), From Up on Poppy Hill (2011), and The Wind Rises (2013). Her first animated work as the head editor was the Maria Holic TV series in 2009. She has since been editor on many well-known TV series and films, such as Gintama: The Movie (2010), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011-2013;TV and film versions), and When Marnie Was There (2014).

When Marnie Was There
When Marnie Was There

Keiko NiwaScreenwriter

Keiko Niwa, an editor and screenwriter, began her career at Tokuma Shoten working on the Animage magazine with Toshio Suzuki. After Suzuki moved to Studio Ghibli, he asked Keiko to write the screenplay for Ocean Waves (1993), a TV anime film. Since then, Keiko has co-written the screenplays for other Ghibli films such as Tales from Earthsea (2006), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), From Up on Poppy Hill (2011), and When Marnie Was There (2014).

When Marnie Was There
When Marnie Was There

Kasumi ArimuraVoice Actress

Kasumi Arimura made her film debut in Hankyu Densha (2011) and has been active in both TV and film since. She made a major breakthrough in the role of the young Haruko Amano, mother of the lead character of the smash hit drama Amachan (2013). She would go on to star as the lead in the hit films Strobe Edge (2015), Flying Colors (2015), and I Am a Hero (2016). For her role as Sayaka Kudo in Flying Colors, Kasumi received the Best Actress award at the 58th Blue Ribbon Awards and the Newcomer of the Year award at the 39th Japan Academy Prize.

When Marnie Was There
Gate of Hell
Machiko Kyo

Machiko KyoActress

One the most well-known actresses of the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, Machiko Kyo began her career as a dancer in the Osaka Nihon Kagekidan troupe. She signed to Daiei Studios in 1949 and made her film debut in Saigo ni Warau Otoko. The following year she starred in Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) for which she received the Best Actress award at the 1951 Mainichi Film Concurs. She went on to star in Gate of Hell (1953) and Ugetsu (1953) which found major success in the U.S. She starred in Kenji Mizoguchi’s final film Street of Shame (1956) as well as the American comedy film The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) alongside Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford and for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. She received the Purple Ribbon Medal (Japan) in 1987, the Order of the Precious Crown (Japan) in 1994, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Japan Academy in 1995.

Gate of Hell
Anthem of the Heart

Mari OkadaScreenplay

A member of the Writers Guilde of Japan and one of the most prolific and well known anime screenwriters today, Mari Okada began her career in 1996 writing scenarios for direct-to-video features, video games, and radio dramas. For her tremendous output and work in several anime series in 2011, including Fractale, Wandering Son, GOSICK, Hanasaku Iroha, and the hit series Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Mari Okada was awarded the 16th Animation Kobe Award – Individual Award. Among other anime series and films that she has written for include Fate/Stay Night (2006), Black Butler (2008), Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc (2011), Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (2012), Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015), and The Anthem of the Heart (2015). Her latest works include The Lost Village (2016) and Kiznavier (2016) which are both currently airing in Japan.

Anthem of the Heart
Sue, Mai & Sawa

Sachiko TanakaScreenwriter

Sachiko Tanaka studied at Tokyo University of the Arts where she apprenticed under film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. In 2007 she received the Kido Shiro Award for her screenplay Natsu no Tabi. In 2008 for Tokyo Sonata, along with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Max Mannix, Sachiko Tanaka received the award for Best Screenwriter at the 2008 Asian Film Awards and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Asia Pacific Film Awards.

Sue, Mai & Sawa
Sue, Mai & Sawa

Kou ShibasakiActress

An actress and singer, Kou Shibasaki made her film debut in the cult classic Battle Royale (2000). The following year, she had a role in the Isao Yukisada film Go, for which she received high critical acclaim taking home the Best Newcomer and Best Supporting Actress awards at nearly every major film award in Japan, including the Mainichi Film Concurs and the Japanese Academy Awards. In addition to being very active in television, Shibasaki has starred in numerous films including One Missed Call (2003), Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004), House of Himiko (2005), Maiko Haaaan!!! (2007), Ooku (2010), A Bolt from the Blue (2014), and most recently Nobunaga Concerto (2016). Shibasaki has also appeared in Hollywood films, appearing in the 2013 film 47 Ronin.

Sue, Mai & Sawa
Sue, Mai & Sawa

Yoko MakiActress

A native of Chiba, Yoko Maki debuted in 2001 in the film Drug. Her popularity rose after her role in the remake of Lady Snowblood titled The Princess Blade also in 2001. She has starred in films such as Summer Time Machine Blues (2005), Sway (2006), and Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo (2011). In 2013, she starred in The Ravine of Goodbye, for which she received Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, the Kinema Junpo Awards, the Nikkan Sports Film Awards, and the Yokohama Film Festival. The same year she appeared in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Hochi Film Awards and the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently she has starred in the films The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015), Poison Berry in My Brain (2015), and Kore-eda’s latest film After the Storm (2016).

Sue, Mai & Sawa
Sue, Mai & Sawa
Shinobu Terajima

Shinobu TerajimaActress
Photo ©Dick Thomas Johnson

Shinobu Terajima began her acting career in theater, joining the Bungakuza troupe while in university and being cast by some of the biggest theatre directors in Japan. Her film debut came in 2000 with Siberian Express 2. In 2003 for her performance in Akame 48 Waterfalls, Terajima received the Best Actress awards at the Japan Academy Awards. However, it was her role in 2003’s Vibrator that put Terajima in the spotlight. Terajima won the Best Actress award at almost every major film award in Japan as well as at the Singapore International Film Festival and the Nantes Three Continents Festival. She also received critical acclaim for Caterpillar (2011) receiving Best Actress at Kinema Junpo and the Berlin International Film Festival. Terajima has appeared in such films as Tokyo Tower (2005), Happy Flight (2008), R100 (2013), and most recently The Shell Collector (2016) based on the short story by Anthony Doerr.

Sue, Mai & Sawa
The Birth of Saké

Masako TsumuraProducer

Masako Tsumura received an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School University and worked as a local producer for a variety of major Japanese TV networks including Fuji TV, TV Tokyo, and NHK. She was the editor for ‘Arakimentari’ (2004), a feature documentary about Nobuyoshi Araki, a Japanese photographer. ‘Arakimentari’ won the Best Editing Award at the Honolulu International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. In 2008, she completed ‘Fire Under the Snow’, her own feature documentary about the Ven. Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan monk who was imprisoned and tortured for 33 years under Chinese rule. ‘Fire Under the Snow’ was shown at dozens of film festivals around the world, including Tribeca Film Festival, Pusan, and IDFA. The film was distributed theatrically in Japan in 2010.

Birth of Saké
NYJCF 2016
Miyo Sato

Miyo SatoDirector

Miyo Sato attended the Nagoya University of Arts’ Department of Media Arts for her undergraduate studies and went on to Tokyo University of the Arts’ Graduate School of Film and New Media – Department of Animation, graduating in 2015. Her short films include Through the Windows (2014) and Fox Fears (2015) and exhibit a style of using fluid mediums painting on glass and sand animation. For Fox Fears she received the Grand Prize at the 2015 Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival – Student Competition and the Short Film Grand Prize at the 2015 Aichi International Women’s Film Festival.

NYJCF 2016
NYJCF 2016
Noriko Yuasa

Noriko YuasaDirector

After graduating from the Tokyo Metropolitan University with a BA in Architecture, Noriko joined DREAMAX Television. From 2013 she worked as a freelance producer and actress, finally having her directorial debut in 2015 with Uchidagawa de matte te yo. She directed and produced the TV drama Higanbana –Keishicho Sousa Nana-ka - in 2016 which starred Maki Horikita. In addition to Girl, Wavering, Yuasa also direct another short film titled Looking for My Lost Sunflowers. She continues to work both in film and television.

NYJCF 2016
NYJCF 2016
Lucy Craft

Lucy CraftDirector

Lucy is is a freelance broadcast reporter and producer based in Tokyo. Piqued by how her Japanese mother ended up with a Jewish guy from the Bronx, she eventually drifted to Tokyo, even settling in mom’s old neighborhood of Suginami. Lucy used to say it was in search of roots, but working on this war bride documentary has convinced her it’s more about a shared DNA for somewhat reckless adventure and wanderlust.

NYJCF 2016
NYJCF 2016
Miyo Sato

Karen KasmauskiDirector

Karen is the oldest child of Emiko and Steve Kasmauski. Karen was born at the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. The family moved to the United States, living in Spring Lake, Mi., Bellwood, Ill., and Norfolk, Va., as Steve moved between Navy assignments. Karen won a full scholarship to the University of Michigan, majoring in religion and anthropology. After college she volunteered in the Appalachia before working for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, winning numerous awards; then moving to National Geographic where she photographed for 25 years. 31 years would pass before Karen returned to Japan. Though Karen never learned Japanese and probably never will, she felt instantly at home there.

NYJCF 2016
NYJCF 2016
Kathryn Tolbert

Kathryn TolbertDirector

Kathryn is the first born of Hiroko’s four children, named after the daughter of the doctor who delivered her. Kathryn wrote her first newspaper article at the age of 11, when her mother took her and her brother to Japan to see her family for the first time, more than a decade after Hiroko had left. Kathryn has worked for newspapers and news organizations since high school. When she worked for the AP in Tokyo, and later for The Washington Post’s Tokyo Bureau, she often wrote about Japanese women. The war bride story is one she has known she should tell, but looking into the lives of others comes more naturally than delving into her own mother’s.

NYJCF 2016
NYJCF 2016

Megumi NishikuraDirector

A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of Arts Film and Television program, she has been working steadily in the documentary film industry first in post-production as an assistant editor and editor and then as a freelance documentary producer and director. She received the Rotary World Peace Fellowship which allowed her to pursue a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies while continuing to produced films and videos. Most of her recent documentaries have been for the United Nations and various foundations and NGOs on global and social issues. Her productions have taken her to Japan, the US, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Germany. Her passion is to use the medium of film to remind ourselves of our common humanity.

NYJCF 2016
Godzilla (1954)
Momoko Kochi

Momoko KochiActress

Not long after graduating from Japan Women’s University, Momoko Kochi joined Toho studios through their “New Face” program. Her film debut came in 1953 in A Woman’s Heart Released. She played the role of Emiko Yamane in the original Godzilla (1954) film and appeared in another tokusatsu film by Ishiro Honda The Mysterians (1957). After leaving Toho in 1958, she began a stage career, joining the Haiyu-za theater group. She continued to work mostly in theater and television, although she reprised her role as Emiko for 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destroyer. Her last film was Ryokan (1997). Momoko Kochi passed away in 1998.

Godzilla
The Boy and the Beast
Kathryn Tolbert

Suzu HiroseVoice Actress
Photo ©Georges Biard

An actress and model, Suzu Hirose’s first film was Shazai no Osama (2013). She rose to fame after starring in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s 2015 Our Little Sister where she played the eponymous role alongside Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, and Kaho. For this film, she received numerous Newcomer awards at the Hochi Film Awards, the Kinema Junpo Awards, the Yokohama Film Festival, and the Japan Academy Prize. Most recently she starred in the hit thriller film Rage directed by Lee Sang-Il. She also starred as the main character, Chihaya Ayase, in the hit film versions of Chihayafuru in 2016 and will reprise the role in an upcoming sequel in 2017.

The Boy and the Beast
The Boy and the Beast
Lucy Craft

Aoi MiyazakiVoice Actress

A versatile film and television actress, Aoi Miyazaki began her career in film in 1999 in Ano Natsu no Hi. She drew international acclaim after starring in Shinji Aoyama’s Eureka (2001), which was recognized at the Cannes Film Festival. This was followed by her starring role in Harmful Insect (2002) for which she received Best Actress at the Nantes Three Continents International Film Festival and Best New Talent at the Nikkan Sports Film Awards. Other films she has starred in include the hit film adaption of the manga Nana (2003), Mt. Tsurugidake (2009), Chronicle of My Mother (2011), and most recently in the hit film Rage (2016). She has also been a voice actress in such anime films as Colorful (2010), Wolf Children (2012), and The Boy and the Beast (2015).

The Boy and the Beast
Round Trip Heart
Yuki Tanada

Yuki TanadaDirector/Writer

In 2007, Tanada wrote the screenplay for the hit film Sakuran, helmed by Mika Ninagawa, which had its international premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2008, Tanada's One Million Yen Girl was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival and she was awarded the New Directors Award by the Directors Guild of Japan. The film also won the audience award at the Udine Far East Film Festival. In 2012, The Cowards who Looked to The Sky premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Round Trip Heart marks Tanada's return to directing her own original screenplay for the first time in seven years.

Round Trip Heart
Round Trip Heart
Yuko Oshima

Yuko OshimaActress
Photo ©Norio NAKAYAMA

Born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1988. Yuko Oshima entered the entertainment industry as a child, appearing in TV dramas. In 2006 Oshima became a member of famed idol unit AKB48, “graduating” from the group in 2014. She began her acting career in earnest with a key supporting role in Yoshida Daihachi's Paper Moon ('14), winning her numerous awards including the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress. Aside from continuous roles in popular TV dramas, Oshima's previous film credits include SPEC series ('13), Ushijima the Loan Shark ('12), Sankaku ('10), The Cherry Orchard: Blossoming ('08) and The Suicide Song ('07).

Round Trip Heart
Hal

Tokiko MegaScreenplay

Tokiko Mega graduated from Kyoto Seika University and first worked for a trading company as a senior writer. She met Tstuomu Izumi, a comedy writer, at a scenario writing school and he asked her to join him in writing for the television show I Still Like Cats in 1990. It was at this time that they created their collective pen-name “Izumi Kizara.” Together they have written for such television shows Suika (2003), Sexy Voice and Robo (2000 – 2003), Q10 (2010), Oyaji no Senaka (2010), Yube no Kare, Ashita no Pan (2013) which is based on their eponymous novel, and most recently Fuji Family (2016). Their only film screenplay has been for the science-fiction anime film Hal (2013).

Hal
Hal

Aya HidaEditor

A Tokyo native, Aya Hida began her editing career with GONZO, an animation studio, before becoming independent. She has been an editor on such animated films as Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006), Psychic School Wars (2012), Hal (2013), Empire of Corpses (2015), Knights of Sidonia (2015), and I’ve Always Liked You (2016). She has also worked on such series as Death Note (2006-2007), Highschool of the Dead (2010), Seitokai yakuindomo (2010), Luck & Logic (2016), and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (2016).

Hal
Hal
Michiru Oshima

Michiru OshimaComposer

Michiru Oshima is a Japanese composer from Nagasaki that has written music for a variety of media including film, television, and theater. She has also written many original works that have been performed by classical artists such as Hilary Hahn, Pierre Lenert, and the Ravel Quartet. Her awards include the Mainichi Film Contest Award for Best Music, and the 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th and 30th Japanese Academy Award for Music, the Best Composer Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival in 2007, Best Music at the 2005 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and the Tokyo Anime Award for Best Music in 2006.

Hal
Only Yesterday

Michiyo YasudaAnimator

Michiyo Yasuda was an animator and color designer whose career spanned over five decades. Her use of color had a powerful influence on the trademark Ghibli look. In an interview with the L.A. Times she remarked “Color has meaning, and it makes the film more easily understood. Colors and pictures can enhance what the situation is on screen.”

Only Yesterday
Only Yesterday

Miki ImaiVoice Actress
Voice of Taeko Okajima

Miki Imai, originally from Miyazaki, began her career in the 1980s modeling and acting in television. Her film debut, Inuji ni Seshi Mono (1986) garnered her Best Newcomer at the Yokohama Film Festival. She has also been in Brave Story (2006) and Walking My Life (2007). In addition to her acting career, Imai has a prolific and successful career as a singer, with nearly 20 studio albums with her latest album Colour released in 2015.

Only Yesterday
Like Father, Like Son

Yoko MakiActress

Born in Chiba, Japan. Maki made her feature film debut in Drug (2001), directed by Sugawara Hiroshi. Her first leading role was in Veronika Decides to Die (2006), based on the novel by Paulo Coelho. In the same year, she received the New Actress Award at the 30th Yamaji Fumiko Awards for her role in Nishikawa Miwa’s Sway, which premiered at Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes, in 2006. In 2010, she gave an excellent performance in the NHK historical drama Ryomaden - The Legend as the wife of Sakamoto Ryoma, played by Fukuyama Masaharu. More recent credits include the feature film Sue, Mai & Sawa: Righting the Girl Ship (2013), The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015), as well as Hirokazu’s latest film After the Storm (2016), and the upcoming film directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita My Uncle.

Like Father, Like Son
Like Father, Like Son

Machiko OnoActress

In 1997, Ono made her feature film debut in Suzaku, directed by Naomi Kawase. The film went on to win the Camera d’Or Award at the 50th Cannes International Film Festival, and Ono herself received Best Actress awards at the Singapore International Film Festival and Takasaki Film Festival, among others. In 2007, she teamed up again with Kawase for The Mourning Forest, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Her lead performance in the NHK TV series Carnation (2011-12), based on the life of Koshino Ayako firmly established her as one of Japan’s leading actresses. Further credits include Climber’s High (2008), The Castle of Crossed Destinies (2012), Apology King (2013), Solomon’s Perjury (2015), and Being Good (2015), as well as the TV series Goldfish (2009), The Best Divorce (2013), and Okashi no Ie (2015) among others. She will star in the upcoming film Museum directed by Keishi Otomo.

Like Father, Like Son
Like Father, Like Son
Kirin Kiki

Kirin KikiActress
Photo ©Andriy Makukha

The daughter of a master biwa (lute) player, Kirin Kiki began her acting career in the 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe. She began acting regularly in film and television, gaining popularity for her comedic roles and often performing the role of an elderly woman in spite of her youth. Kiki has recently been highly recognized for her roles in such films as Hanochi (2004), Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008), Still Walking (2008), and Chronicle of My Mother (2014) for which she won Best Actress at the Japan Academy Awards. Most recently, she starred in Naomi Kawase’s An (2015) and won Best Actress at the 2016 Japan Academy Awards, the Hochi Film Awards, and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Like Father, Like Son
Like Father, Like Son

Kaoru MatsuzakiProducer

A television and film producer, Kaoru Matsuzaki is a graduate of the International Christian University. She began her career with Sony and is currently with Fuji Television. She has been a producer for such films as Oh! Oku (2006), Honokaa Boy (2009), Mt. Tsurugidake (2009), Thermae Romae (2012), Like Father, Like Son (2013), and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s most recent films Our Little Sister (2015) and After the Storm (2016).

Like Father, Like Son
Like Father, Like Son

Kazuko KurosawaCostume/Stylist

An accomplished costume designer and daughter of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Kazuko was costume designer on her father’s final two films, Rhapsody in August (1991) and Maadadayo (1993). She went on to work on many films such as The Twilight Samurai (2002), The Hidden Blade (2004), Silk (2007), Still Walking (2008), Beyond Outrage (2012), Kiyosu Conference (2013), and A Samurai Chornicle (2014). The most recent film she did costume design for was Persona Non Grata directed by Cellin Gluck.

Like Father, Like Son
A Gentle Breeze in the Village
Kaho

KahoActress
Photo ©Georges Biard

The debut film of Japanese actress Kaho. In 2008, she won the Best Newcomer in 2008 at the Yokohama Film Festival for her performance in "A Gentle Breeze in the Village" as well as Rookie of the Year (Japan Academy Prize).

A Gentle Breeze in the Village
A Gentle Breeze in the Village

Aya WatanabeScreenwriter

After graduating from Konan Women's University, Aya Watanabe got her big break when she submitted some of her work to the official site of Shunji Iwai in 1999, where it was discovered by movie producer Osamu Kubota.

A Gentle Breeze in the Village
A Tale of Samurai Cooking
profile-sample5

Aya UetoActress
Photo ©Shuichi Aizawa

Aya Ueto's first major break in major films came when she won multiple awards for Best Newcomer for her role in "Azumi" (2003). For her work in Thermae Romae, she was nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Hochi Film Award for "Thermae Romae" (2012).

Thermae Romae A Tale of Samurai Cooking
Kiyosu Conference

Miki NakataniActress

Miki Nakatani became well known after her work in "Ring" (1998). Her role in "Memories of Matsuko" (2006) won her Best Actress at the Hochi Film Awards, Kinema Junpo Awards, Japan Academy Prize, Mainichi Film Concurs, and Asian Film Awards.

Kiyosu Conference
Kiyosu Conference
Kyoka Suzuki

Kyoka SuzukiActress
Photo ©Dick Thomas Johnson

Acting since 1989, Kyoka Suzuki has a broad range of movies under her belt, appearing in films such as appeared in Shinji Aoyama's Mike "Yokohama: A Forest with No Name" (2002) and Yōichi Sai's "Blood and Bones" (2005).

Kiyosu Conference
Kiyosu Conference

Kazuko KurosawaCostume Designer

An accomplished costume designer and daughter of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Kazuko Kurosawa is known for her work on "The Twilight Samurai" (2002), "Still Walking" (2008) and "Silk" (2007), in addition to her designs for "Kiyosu Conference".

Kiyosu Conference
Kiyosu Conference

Kiyoko OginoFilm Score Composer

Known for her piano orchestrations, Kiyoko Ogino graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and has been working on film scores since the early 1990s.

Kiyosu Conference
Sunshine Ahead

Yasuko MatsuyukiActress

A singer and model, Yasuko Matsuyuki got her start modeling in high school. She landed her first leading role in 1993 and has since starred in films such as "Hula Girls" (2006), "Vexille" (2007) and "Monday" (2000).

Sunshine Ahead
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Nobuko MiyamotoVoice Actress

Nobuko Miyamoto rose to fame through her roles in films by Japanese director, Juzo Itami. She won Best Actress (Japan Academy Prize, Kinema Junpo Awards) for "A Taxing Woman" (1987) and has received multiple nominations for Best Actress (Japan Academy Prize) between 1984 and 2011.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Tomoko TabataVoice Actress

Starring in her first film in 1993, Tomoko Tabata's career really took off in the mid- to late-2000s. Most recently she has appeared in "Lady Maiko" (2014) and "Solomon's Perjury" parts 1 and 2 (2015). She voiced the character Menowarawa in "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya".

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Riko SakaguchiScreenplay

Riko Sakaguchi wrote the screenplay for "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" (2013) with Studio Ghibli director Isao Takahata. For her work on this film, she and Takahata were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Italian Online Movie Awards).

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
A Tale of Samurai Cooking

Kimiko YoActress

Acting since the late 1980's, Kimiko Yo has recently come into her own. She has won awards for Best Supporting Actress (Yokohama Film Festival, Japan Academy Prize) for "Departures" (2008), Best Supporting Actress (Japan Acadmey Prize) for "Dear Doctor" (2009), "Dearest" (2012); and was nominated as Nominated for Best Actress (Japan Academy Prize) for "A Tale of Samurai Cooking" (2013), in addition to many other recognitions.

A Tale of Samurai Cooking
The Princess and the Pilot

Satoko OkuderaScreenwriter

After leaving her job at an oil company, Satoko Okudera became a full-time screenwriter and has become well known in both the live-action and anime mediums. She is often recognized for her work with anime director Mamoru Hosoda.

The Princess and the Pilot
Giovanni's Island

Atsuko FukushimaCharacter Design

A character designer, key animator, and director, Atsuko Fukushim has been working in the Japanese animation industry since the early 1980s. She was the key animator on such films as"Akira" (1987), "Kiki’s Delivery Service" (1989), and Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy (1987).

Giovanni's Island
Giovanni's Island

Yukie NakamaVoice Actress

Originally a singer and model, Yukie Nakama's breakthrough role came when she played Sadako in "Ring 0: Birthday" (2000). Her work in television drama has been much acclaimed and has made her one of Japan's most popular actresses. She voiced Sawako in Giovanni's Island.

Giovanni's Island
Mourning Recipe

Fumi NikaidoActress

Fumi Nikaido has been recognized as an rising international star by both Variety and the New York Asian Film Festival. Her more recent works include "Hibi Rock" (2014) and "La La La at Rock Bottom" (2015).

Mourning Recipe
Mourning Recipe

Yuki TanadaDirector

A Japanese director and screenwriter, Yuki Tanada graduated from the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Her debut film, "Moru", won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Pia Film Festival. Since then, she has directed many critically acclaimed films.

Mourning Recipe
Mourning Recipe

Hiromi NagasakuActress

Hiromi Nagasaku has been described as one of the best comic actresses currently working the industry. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 32nd Hochi Film Awards, the Kinema Junpo, and the Blue Ribbon Awards for "Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!" (2007).

Mourning Recipe
Mourning Recipe
Keiko Awaji

Keiko AwajiActress

Keiko Awaji's career in cinema spanned over six decades. Her first awards came in 1957, when she won Best Supporting Actress (Blue Ribbon Awards) for "Kottaisan yori: Nyotai wa kanashiku" & "Shitamachi". "Mourning Recipe" was her last film before she passed away in 2014.

Mourning Recipe
Mourning Recipe

Hisako KurosawaScreenwriter

Hisako Kurosawa originally began as a journalist, but quickly switched toe screenwriting. She has received critical acclaim for scripts such as "I Am A Cat Stalker" (2009), "Accidental Kidnapper" (2010) and "Caterpillar" (2010).

Mourning Recipe
EuroAsia Shorts 2015
Yuka Imabayashi

Yuka ImabayashiDirector
Photo ©Yuka Imabayashi

The debut film of director and animator Yuka Imabayashi. She graduated with a degree in animation from the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts in 2009 and is currently working as an animator.

EuroAsia Shorts 2015
Mai Mai Miracle

KotringoComposer

The stage name for Japanese pop singer/songwriter and pianist Rieko Miyoshi, Kotringo graduated from Berklee College of Music, where she received numerous awards, including the Achievement Award in the piano department.

Mai Mai Miracle
Mai Mai Miracle

Minako "mooki" ObataComposer

An accomplished vocalist, Minako "mooki" Obata debuted her first album in 1995 and has been writing scores for TV and film since 2001. Her work on "Mai Mai Miracle" was highly applauded for its fresh, modern take on a cappella music.

Mai Mai Miracle
Bushido Sixteen
Riko Narumi

Riko NarumiActress
Photo ©2010 "Bushido Sixteen" Production Committee

A relatively new talent, Riko Narumi has already made a big impression, starring in films such as "Shodo Girls". In 2007, she won the New Talent Award (Sponichi Grand Prize) for her roles in "Shindo" and "How To Become Myself" (2007).

Bushido Sixteen
Bushido Sixteen
Kie Kitano

Riko NarumiActress
Photo ©2010 "Bushido Sixteen" Production Committee

First starring role in a film, "Kofuku no Shokutaku", won her the Rookie of the Year at the Japan Academy Prize in 2008.

Bushido Sixteen
Postcard
Shinobu Otake

Shinobu OtakeActress
Photo ©2011 POSTCARD KINDAI EIGA KYOKAI/WATANABE SHOJI/PLANDAS

A stage and film actress, Shinobu Otake's career encompasses three decades worth of work. Most notably, she has won three Japan Academy Prizes: Best Actress for "Poppoya" (1999) and "The Incident" (1978), as well as Best Supporting Actress for "Seishoku no ishibumi" (1978).

Postcard
Rent-a-Cat
Naoko Ogigami

Naoko OgigamiDirector

Naoko Ogigami studied film at University of Southern California. After receiving the commercial and critical success with "Kamome Diner" (2006) and "Glasses" (2007), her previous work "Toilet" (2010) received the 61st The Rookie Award of Art Encouragement from the Education Minister of Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Rent-a-Cat
NY-Japan Cinefest

New York Japan CineFest 2015

A collection of four short-films by up and coming female Japanese directors will be shown as part of the touring New York Japan CineFest at the JICC!

NY-Japan Cinefest
Key Of Life
Shinobu Otake

Ryoko HirosueActress
Photo ©工房やまもも

Ryoko Hirosue began her career in modeling before making her television debut at age 15. She went on to star in such critically-acclaimed films as "Departures" (2008) and "Zero Focus" (2009) for which she received nominations for Best Actress in both.

Key Of Life
Brave Story

Takako MatsuVoice Actress

A versatile actress and singer, Takako Matsu comes from a traditional buyo family. Takako's acting experience ranges from theater to television and film. Her lead performances have regularly garnered her much recognition, such as receiving Best Actress (Hochi Film Awards) for "The Hidden Blade" (2004) and Best Actress (Hochi Film Awards, Japan Academy Awards) for "Villon's Wife" (2009).

Brave Story
Pale Flower
Mariko Kaga

Mariko KagaActress
Image Courtesy Janus Films

Mariko Kaga began her film career with Shochiku Studio and appeared in many acclaimed films such as "With Beauty and Sorrow" (1965) and "Pleasures of the Flesh" (1965). She was active in film, television and even on stage, and received recognition for her film performances, receiving the Best Supporting Actress Award (Kinema Junpo) for "Muddy River" (1981) and "Kagero-Za" (1981).

Pale Flower