The acting profession is, at the best of times, an extremely challenging one, faced with a constant search for the next job, rejection, irregular finance and pressures of family, society and self doubt. The rewards, however, can be great for those who wish a life full of new experiences and challenges. So it is no […]
Here at ELFS Japan, we cater most of our workshops to filmmaking beginners. Let’s say you participated in one of our workshops to learn the basics of filmmaking and you would like to pursue filmmaking further. As you get started, the first equipment you might think about getting is a camera. But.. “Which camera should […]
This week I wanted to share short films that are currently available to stream on the Short Shorts Online Theater. You do have to register in order to stream the short films but I highly recommend you to do so to watch some of the best short films for free. Here are five short films […]
Even though the heat continues to bear down on us, the eventual changing of the season from summer to autumn means more than cool, comfortable temperatures and the colorful fall foliage. It is also the season of film festivals all throughout Japan! This week we bring to you a list of notable film festivals during […]
This week we welcomed six students from all walks of life to take part in the Making the Short Film workshop. We spent three nights during the week getting to know one another, learning about scripts, getting familiar with the basics of filming, working with actors; all in preparation for Saturday when each of the […]
I often think about how much technological advancement has taken place just in my lifetime when it comes to filmmaking technology. I am part of a generation that has straddled both analog and digital eras: the earliest movies I watched was on a Betamax tape; the earliest filming I did with friends was on a […]
Recently a low-budget, independent Japanese horror comedy film, Kamera wo Tomeru na! (One Cut of the Dead) directed by first-time feature-director, Shinichiro Ueda created quite the buzz in the international film scene and received numerous awards and high praises in various international film festivals around the world, including: Silver Mulberry Award (Second-place Audience Award) at Udine Far […]
“A short film can be anything. Just like a poem. But that doesn’t mean it is easier. Sometimes it’s much harder to write one great poem than to write a whole novel.” – Director Sara Broos I recently came across this quote by a Swedish filmmaker Sara Broos in an interview. It got me thinking […]
Earlier in the year I met with a few US-based colleagues that were in Tokyo for a work trip. After the day meetings we took the taxi to Nishi-Azabu to head over to the restaurant Gonpachi Nishiazabu. As you may already know, Gonpachi Nishiazabu is the restaurant that inspired the set for the famous fight […]