The Making of a Japanese, film screening and Q&A with Ema Ryan Yamazaki
The Making of A Japanese
a film screening and Q&A with Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Sunday, April 19, 4 pm
Join us for a film screening of “The Making of A Japanese” and Q&A with filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki.
Intimately capturing one school year from the perspective of 1st and 6th graders at Tsukado public elementary school in Tokyo, The Making of A Japanese has the magic of childhood with precious moments of joy, tears, and discovery — as they learn the traits necessary to become part of Japanese society.
While living in New York, Ema realized that her core values stemmed from experiences during her public elementary school years that she experienced in Osaka, as she learned crucial values of discipline and responsibility. That became her thesis: 6-year-olds around are pretty similar, whereas a 12-year-old Japanese child is distinctly Japanese. With no narration or interviews, the viewer is invited to experience what it’s like to go through the Japanese school year, where the balance of freedom and restraint is at question, and every life lesson tows the line of growth and sacrifice.
Listen to the podcast.
In episode 6 of Hibiku Kotoba, Oscar-nominated and award-winning documentary filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki joins Kathleen on the podcast. Together they talk about Ema’s origin story as a filmmaker, her menteeship with Sam Pollard, and all three of her feature films along with her Oscar-nominated “Instruments of a Beating Heart.
Ema’s decision to go back to Japan and create documentary films about Japanese society is to share to the world her experiences as a Japanese person and to showcase the nuances of living in a country where culture is deeply instilled in every part of its society. For aspiring documentary filmmakers, this episode is definitely worth listening to as she shares her insight and advice for those who also want to be a documentary filmmaker.
About the Filmmaker
Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese/British documentary filmmaker based in Tokyo, with roots in New York. With a unique perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan, Ema strives to tell stories that empathetically show human struggle and triumph. Ema is the Director of Instruments of A Beating Heart and Editor of Black Box Diaries, which were both nominated for the Academy Awards in 2025. She has directed three acclaimed feature documentaries; The Making of A Japanese, Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, and Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious Georges Creators.
Told with poise, humor, and strength, The Mid-Adventures of A Former Nisei Queen shares reflections of spirited 92-year-old June Aochi Berk. Growing up in prewar Little Tokyo, she goes from surviving in a horse stall at the Santa Anita temporary detention center and in a barrack at the Rohwer concentration camp during World War II to being crowned Nisei Week Queen in Los Angeles. Director Evan Kodani has over a decade of experience in filmmaking. He has filmed and edited a multitude of productions, including the Emmy award-winning ARTBOUND episode Masters of Modern Design in collaboration with PBS SoCal.
