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Ema Ryan Yamazaki

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Japanese-British documentary filmmaker
Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023
Born1989 (age 34–35)
Kobe, Japan
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Years active2017-present
SpouseEric Nyari

Ema Ryan Yamazaki (Japanese name: 山崎エマ, born 1989) is a Japanese-British documentary filmmaker and editor.

Early years

Yamazaki was born in Kobe, Japan to a British college professor father and a Japanese schoolteacher mother. She grew up near Osaka, and spent summers in England. Following high school, Yamazaki moved to New York, graduating from New York University with a focus on documentary making and editing.

After graduation, Yamazaki served as an assistant for documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard, working as a film editor.

Career

Yamazaki first feature-length documentary was her 2017 Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators, which chronicles the lives of Curious George authors Hans and Margret Rey. It won the audience award for Best Documentary Feature at the Nantucket Film Festival.

Her next film, Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams followed coaches and players from two Japanese high schools during the 100th summer Kōshien baseball tournament, and was shown on ESPN. Following additional documentary work with Japan's NHK, Yamazaki won the 2020 Documentary Filmmaker of the Year Award from Yahoo Japan.

In 2023, Yamazaki completed work on The Making of a Japanese (released in Japan under the different name 小学校～それは小さな社会). The work closely follows first and sixth graders for one year at a public elementary school in Tokyo's Setagaya ward, giving an intimate look at how the Japanese educational system shapes the lives of those who pass through it. Her shorter film, Instruments of a Beating Heart was adapted from The Making of a Japanese and released by the New York Times. It won the award for Best Short Documentary at the International Documentary Association's 2024 awards ceremony.

Personal life

Yamazaki married film producer Eric Nyari in 2017. They have collaborated on several films.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators Director
2019 Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams Director
2023 The Making of a Japanese Director

References

  1. ^ "About Ema Ryan Yamazaki". Nippon Connection. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  2. Rich, Motoko (April 5, 2024), "Documentary Filmmaker Explores Japan's Rigorous Education Rituals", The New York Times, archived from the original on December 19, 2024, retrieved December 17, 2024
  3. McCarty, Stephen (June 12, 2024), "Redefining what it means to be Japanese: filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki on her life and work", South China Morning Post
  4. "22nd Annual Nantucket Film Festival Announces Audience Award Winners for Narrative, Documentary and Short Films" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  5. ^ Tim, Keown (June 29, 2020), "New baseball film captures the tournament that made Shohei Ohtani, Yusei Kikuchi stars", ESPN, archived from the original on December 16, 2024, retrieved December 16, 2024
  6. ""Yahoo! JAPAN Creators Program Thanksgiving 2020" held". Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  7. "Op-Docs Takes Home International Documentary Award", New York Times, December 10, 2024, archived from the original on December 16, 2024, retrieved December 16, 2024
  8. Schilling, Mark (November 22, 2018), "Eric Nyari and Ema Ryan Yamazaki: Emblems of Change in Japanese Film", Variety, archived from the original on December 1, 2022, retrieved December 16, 2024
  9. Miller, Mike (July 26, 2016), "'Curious George' Creators' Incredible Escape from Nazi Germany Revealed in New Documentary", People
  10. Hadfield, James (December 5, 2024), "'The Making of a Japanese': A warm and engaging portrait of Japanese schoolchildren", The Japan Times, archived from the original on December 16, 2024, retrieved December 16, 2024

External links

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