Ema Ryan Yamazaki | Director, “The Making of a Japanese”
Ema is an Oscar nominated documentary filmmaker who has received critical acclaim both in Japan and internationally.
Raised in Osaka by a Japanese mother and British father, she grew up navigating between Japanese and Western cultures. Having studied filmmaking at New York University, Ema uses her unique storytelling perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan.
Ema’s latest feature film THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE follows one year in a Japanese public school. With unprecedented access to a school in Tokyo, the film intimately follows 1st and 6th graders for one year, observing kids learning the traits necessary to become part of Japanese society. Having attended Japanese elementary school herself, the film comes from Ema’s belief that the foundation of Japanese society can be seen in its school system. The film premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023, and has received numerous awards including the Audience Award at the largest festivals for Japanese film in both Europe and the USA, NIPPON CONNECTION in Germany and JAPAN CUTS in New York. The film opened in 13 theaters in Japan and then expanded to over 100 as it became a box office hit, creating a wide conversation around the Japanese education system.
The New York Times Op-Doc version of the project, INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film, making Ema the first Japanese filmmaker with a film about Japan to be nominated in the category. It also won Best Short Documentary at the International Documentary Association’s prestigious annual awards. INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART is one of the most watched documentaries on the New York Times platform in its history.
Ema’s previous film KOSHIEN: JAPAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS explores the phenomenon of high school baseball in Japan. In co-production with NHK, the film is an intimate and dramatic journey following coaches and players from two high schools – one being Shohei Ohtani’s alma mater – during the historic 100th summer tournament. The film aired in primetime on ESPN, became a NYT critic’s pick, was featured on the Criterion Channel, and released theatrically in Japan.
Ema’s debut feature documentary MONEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS uses animation, archival materials and interviews to tell the unknown war story of the Curious George book authors. Ema has also served as Editor on notable films such as Marc Levin’s CLASS DIVIDE (Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC in 2015), Naomi Kawase’s official Olympic film for Tokyo 2020 (Cannes 2022), and Shiori Ito’s BLACK BOX DIARIES (Oscar-nominated in 2025).
