Directing Course
Nobuhiro Suwa, Professor

Born in 1960. Became involved in independent movies while attending Tokyo Zokei University. After graduating and gaining experience in producing TV documentaries, he directed 2/Duo (1997), which won the NETPAC Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. He was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize in the Parallel Sections at Cannes Film Festival for M/Other. Other major works include H Story, Paris, je t’aime (omnibus), Un Couple Parfait, which won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Locarno International Film Festival, and Yuki & Nina. He is known for his filmmaking approach that uses loosely written scripts.

Directing Course
Akihiko Shiota, Professor

Born in 1961. Starts his career with 8mm independent films as a university student. In 1999, he simultaneously released Moonlight Whispers and Don’t Look Back. Then, Harmful Insect (2001) was selected for the Venice International Film Festival, and later won the Special Jury Prize at the Nante Three Continent Festival. Futher, Resurrection (2002) and Dororo (2007) achieved the domestic box-office hits, grossed over 3 billion yen. He continues his filmmaking by bouncing back and forth between commercial films and art-theater film productions. His recent works include Wet Woman in the Wind (2016) and The World of You (2022). In addition, he’s the author of the film criticism ”The Cinematography: Why are these Directions so Attractive?”, which also translated and published in China.
『Moonlight Whispers』『D’ont Look Back』『Harmful Insect』『Resurrection』『Dororo』『Wet Woman in the Wind』『The World of You』

Screenwriting Course
Michiko Oishi, Professor

Born in Tokyo. After graduating from the Fine Art department of Tokyo University of Arts(TUA), interjecting a period as an employee, she was then enrolled in Film production of Film and New Media graduate school of TUA in 2005. There, she studied screenwriting under Yozo Tanaka and finished her course by 2007. Some of her major screenwriting films are Tokyo Rendezvous (2008, directed by Chihiro Ikeda), GeGeGe’s Wife (2010, directed by Takuji Suzuki), Drive in Gamo (2014, directed by Masaki Tamura), and an animation work To You - Letters from Hibakusha- (directed by Yuka Imabayashi). She was also the supervisor of Japanese lines for Abbas Kiarostami's film, Like Someone In Love (2012).

Screenwriting Course
Yuji Sakamoto, Visiting Professor

Born in 1967. Won the Fuji TV Young Scenario Award at the age of 19. At the age of 23 he wrote the screenplay for Tokyo Love Story, concentrating thereafter on writing screenplays for TV drama series. Recent works include Watashitachi no kyokasho (Our Textbook), Mother, Soredemo ikite yuku (Still, Lift Goes On), Saiko no rikon (The Greatest Divorce), Woman, Mondai no aru resutoran (A Restaurant with Many Problems), and Itsuka kono koi wo omoidashite kitto naite shimau (Love That Makes You Cry).

Producing Course
Shozo Ichiyama, Professor

Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan in 1963. After graduating from the Economic department of Tokyo University, he started his career by joining Shochiku. While he was placed in Office Kitano Inc., he produced a variety of films inside and outside of Japan. Some of his major producing works are; Nowhere Man (1991) directed by Naoto Takeuchi, Flowers of Shanghai (1998) directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Blackboards (2000) directed by Samira Makhmalbaf, A Touch of Sin (2013) directed by Jia Zhangke, and They Say Nothing Stays the Same (2019) directed by Joe Odagiri.
Also, he was the Program Director of TOKYO FILMeX from 2000 to 2020, and from April, 2021 he works as the Programming Director of Tokyo International Film Festival.

Cinematography Course
Sohei Tanikawa, Professor

Graduated from Nihon University College of Art, Department of Cinema. Mainly shoots films and TV dramas. Studied in the UK as part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs Overseas Study Program for Artists and serves on the board of the Japanese Society for Cinematographers. Main works as cinematographer include director Sion Sono’s Noriko’s Dinner Table, Love Exposure, Guilty of Romance, and Himizu; director Takashi Shimizu’s Kiki’s Delivery Service; director Satoshi Miki’s Adrift in Tokyo; director Yuichi Sato’s Kasane: Beauty and Fate; and director Hideki Takeuchi’s Fly Me to the Saitama and Daughter of Lupin.

Art Directing Course
Keiko Mitsumatsu, Professor

Mitsumatsu graduated from Art Directing course of Nikkatsu Visual Arts Academy in 1995. She started her career as a trainee, and after three years as a prop makers, turned to an art assistant. She worked as an art director for Nobody Knows (2004), Our Little Sister (2015), Shoplifters (2018), and Monster (2023) directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Sway (2006), Dear Doctor (2009), The Long Excuse (2016), Under The Open Sky (2020) directed by Miwa Nishikawa, Tokyo Rendezvous (2008) directed by Chihiro Ikeda, Drowning Love (2016) directed by Yuki Yamato, The 8-Year Engagement (2017) directed by Takahisa Zeze, and Life in Overtime (2018) directed by Hideo Nakata.

Sound Design Course
Hiroyuki Nagashima, Professor

Nagashima’s work on the live sound remix of a movie directed by Sogo Ishii led to work on music and sound for numerous works spanning multiple media. His sound work for movies include Sogo Ishii’s Angel Dust, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Memories episode 3 – ‘Cannon Fodder’ (Taiho no machi), Shinji Aoyama’s Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachtani?, Kunitoshi Manda’s Seppun (The Kiss), Hiroshi Takahashi’s Kyofu (The Sylvian Experiments), and Makoto Shinozaki’s Sharing. He also performs with Dowser, an electronic music group.

Editing Course
Takefumi Tsutsui, Professor

Tsutsumi began making films while attending Tokyo Zokei University. He made his feature-length film directorial debut in 1987 with the silent movie Yumeko no daibouken. In addition to his work as a film editor and director, he has written countless film reviews. Tsutsui’s major films include Overdrive in 2004, Bahha no shozo (Bach’s Portrait) in 2010, and Kodokuna wakusei (Lonely Planet) in 2011. Recently he completed Fancy Free and Eizo no hakken=Matsumoto Toshio no jidai.

Editing Course
Ryuji Miyajima, Visiting Professor

Miyajima started his career as an assistant editor in 1989 and studied editing under Toshio Taniguchi, who used to work in Daiei Studio. He debuted as an editor for Some Kinda Love (1996) directed by Shunichi Nagasaki. He also edited Swing Girls (2004), and Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005). Miyajima won Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing of Japan Academy Film Prize for The Eternal Zero (2006). He works as an Editor with Mitsuhiro Mihara, Yuji Nakae, Shinobu Yaguchi, Miwa Nishikawa, Yuki Tanada as well as Takashi Yamazaki. He edits not only narrative films but also documentary films, commercials, animations. He is a member of Japan Academy Film Prize and Japan Film and Television Editing Association.

Translator and Film Producer
Shohreh Golparian, Visiting Professor

Born in Iran. Founder and the president of Small Talk Inc.
Her first visit to Japan was in 1979, after graduating from her university. She started her career in 1982 as an ambassador secretary in the Embassy of Iran, then from 1992, she worked as a translator at NHK Bilingual Center. In the wake of Abbas Kiarostami films, she made an effort in introducing Iran films and having them screen released in Japan. Since 2003, she has been participating in collaborative works as a film producer, and she founded Small Talk Inc., the cultural company in 2011. From 2014, she joined the Busan Film Festival as an adviser. Her recent screen release was in 2020, the film Hotel New Moon (directed by Takefumi Tsutsui, one of the professors of our school), which was a collaborative work of Japan and Iran. She was awarded Foreign Minister’s Commendations of Japan in 2018, Japanese Film Pen Club’s Special Achievement Award in 2019, and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Raysand in 2020, all for her work of promoting cultural interaction between Japan and Iran.

Filmmaker and Journalist
Karen Severns, Visiting Professor

Karen Severns has worked in New York and Tokyo as a filmmaker, critic, journalist and advertising executive. She holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and an MS in Journalism, and has produced dozens of music/art/architecture videos and short films, including Oscar nominee One Day Crossing and Magnificent Obsession: Frank Lloyd Wright's Buildings and Legacy in Japan. She taught film courses for 10 years at Waseda University. She is the longtime film series curator at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, and a programmer for the New York Asian Film Festival. She is a founding partner of KiSMet Productions, a boutique film production/promotion/translation company.

Saori Takenaka, Assistant Professor

Eiji Watanabe, Adjunct Instructor

Noriaki Minami, Guest Lecturer

Akihiko Suzuki, Guest Lecturer

Yukiko Shimizu, Guest Lecturer

Ryoma Hirata, Lecturer and Technical Director

Mukadasi Muhetaer, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Kaede Fujimoto, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Shin Kimura, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Hitomi Oh, Projects Manager

Masaru Natori, Equipments Manager

Naoya Hatakeyama, Professor

Born 1958 in Rikuzentakata, Iwate. Received his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba in 1984. He is best known for his photographic studies of manmade and natural landscapes. Recipient of the 22nd Kimura Ihei Award, the 42nd Mainichi Art Award, and the 2011 Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize, among others. His works are in the collections of major museums around the world including MoMA, Tate, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. His many published photo collections include Lime Works, Underground, and Blast.

Takashi Kiriyama, Professor

Received his Doctor of Engineering from the Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Assumed his current position after working with Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE), Japan Science and Technology Agency, The University of Tokyo Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies. Fruits of his creative practice as the unit Euclid (together Professor Masahiko Sato) include Arithmetik Garden (2007), Pool of Fingerprints, The Nominal Divide (2010), and Hill of Reign (2015).

Eishi Katsura, Professor

Born 1959 in Nagasaki. Specializes in Media Studies and Library and Information Science. Received his master’s degree from the Graduate School of the University of Library and Information Science. He previously he worked as an assistant at the National Center for Science Information Systems (currently National Institute of Informatics), and as associate professor at Tokyo Zokei University. His publications include Interactive Mind, Ningen Kosai Jyutsu, and Mythology of Tokyo Disneyland. He is also involved in the planning of new public cultural facilities both in Japan and abroad.

Akira Takayama, Professor

Theater director, born 1969. Founder-director of the theater collective Port B. Takayama’s activities have expanded beyond the theater setting to encompass actual cities and communities, including installations and tour performances making use of urban locations. Recently, he has collaborated with practitioners in a number of different fields including art, tourism and urban-projects, expanding the possibilities of various genres with his theatrical ideas and concepts.

Hiroyuki Hattori Associate Professor

Curator. Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1978 and based in Aichi and Akita. Completed graduate school in architecture at Waseda University in 2006. Involved in diverse creative practices with artists and creators as art center curator, freelancer, and art school faculty member. Also develops projects with other creators and investigates the artistic practices of contemporaries in Asia. Cosmo-Eggs was exhibited in the Japan Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia in 2019.

Shintaro Wada, Assistant Professor

Nanami Abe, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Ryotaro Sato, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Juppo Yokokawa, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

2D Animation Course
Koji Yamamura, Professor

Born in 1964. Produced animated films for children such as Pacusi and Bavel’s Book in the 1990s. Mt.Head (2002) was nominated for the 75th Academy Award, received the grand prize at Annecy, Zagreb and six other film festivals, and was named one of the “100 Works of the 21st Century”; Franz Kafka’s “A Country Doctor” (2007) won the grand prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and seven other film festivals. He also illustrates children’s books, including Oyaoya Oyasai and Parade. He was recipient of the 30th Kawakita Award. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, executive board member of the Japanese chapter of the International Animated Film Association, and vice chairman of the Japan Animation Association.

3D Animation Course
Yuichi Ito, Professor

Animation director. Born in 1962. After working with the visual effects studio Shirogumi, and in computer graphics production, in 1998 he launched the animation studio I.TOON Ltd. and currently serves as its president. His many projects integrating multiple (mainly 3D) animation techniques include KNYACK!! (NHK Educational TV), broadcast for more than 20 years; Harbor Tale (2011), winner of Best Animated Film at the Zlin Film Festival (Czech Republic); the television commercial for Kao Kyukyutt o, and the animation software Claytown, which he co-supervised. He is on the board of directors of Japan Animation Association, and a member of ASIFA-JAPAN.

Producing Course
Mitsuko Okamoto, Professor

Former producer for NHK. From 2000, she planned and produced the TV program Digital Stadium, considered a gateway to success for budding film creators, and the event Digital Art Festival (DAF) Tokyo; from 2010, the series 2355 and 0655, both broadcast weekdays on NHK Educational TV, in collaboration with Professor Masahiko Sato of this graduate school; and from 2012, TECHNE: The Visual Workshop for Studying Filmmaking.

Research and Theory Course
Taruto Fuyama, Professor

Ph.D. Began producing 3DCG animation in the 1990s. Since 2003 he has been developing devices for producing animation and holding interactive exhibitions and workshops at museums both in Japan and abroad. KOMA KOMA, his stop motion animation app, has had over 1,000,000 downloads worldwide. His practical research include the creation of personnel development programs through academic-industry collaborations and the application of animation in the field of mental health. He is a Vice President of the Japan Society for Animation Studies.

Research and Theory Course
Nahomi Maki, Associate Professor

Maki began creating animation in the 2000s and earned a PhD in film studies in 2017. She joined this faculty after working in a film production studio in the US and undertaking academic research. She has created 2D and 3DCG animation, and in recent years has expanded her activities into full-dome film, VR production and research. Screenings of her work include the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival, Annecy Animation Film Festival 2009, 11th Fulldome Film Festival (Germany), and SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 VR Showcase.

Asako Eguchi, Project Associate Professor

Sayaka Omodaka, Assistant Professor

Ryouya Usuha, Project Associate Professor in AMC（Game Course）

Takayuki Oguchi, Guest Lecturer

Sunao Katabuchi, Guest Lecturer

Yuichi Kishino, Guest Lecturer

Hiroshi Takayama, Guest Lecturer

Akiko Kimura, Guest Lecturer

Ninomiya Ryo, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Keigo Ito, Adjunct Education and Research Assistant

Nobuhiro Suwa, Professor

Born in 1960. Became involved in independent movies while attending Tokyo Zokei University. After graduating and gaining experience in producing TV documentaries, he directed 2/Duo (1997), which won the NETPAC Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. He was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize in the Parallel Sections at Cannes Film Festival for M/Other. Other major works include H Story, Paris, je t’aime (omnibus), Un Couple Parfait, which won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Locarno International Film Festival, and Yuki & Nina. He is known for his filmmaking approach that uses loosely written scripts.

Michiko Oishi, Professor

Born in Tokyo. After graduating from the Fine Art department of Tokyo University of Arts(TUA), interjecting a period as an employee, she was then enrolled in Film production of Film and New Media graduate school of TUA in 2005. There, she studied screenwriting under Yozo Tanaka and finished her course by 2007. Some of her major screenwriting films are Tokyo Rendezvous (2008, directed by Chihiro Ikeda), GeGeGe’s Wife (2010, directed by Takuji Suzuki), Drive in Gamo (2014, directed by Masaki Tamura), and an animation work To You - Letters from Hibakusha- (directed by Yuka Imabayashi). She was also the supervisor of Japanese lines for Abbas Kiarostami's film, Like Someone In Love (2012).

Shozo Ichiyama, Professor

Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan in 1963. After graduating from the Economic department of Tokyo University, he started his career by joining Shochiku. While he was placed in Office Kitano Inc., he produced a variety of films inside and outside of Japan. Some of his major producing works are; Nowhere Man (1991) directed by Naoto Takeuchi, Flowers of Shanghai (1998) directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Blackboards (2000) directed by Samira Makhmalbaf, A Touch of Sin (2013) directed by Jia Zhangke, and They Say Nothing Stays the Same (2019) directed by Joe Odagiri.
Also, he was the Program Director of TOKYO FILMeX from 2000 to 2020, and from April, 2021 he works as the Programming Director of Tokyo International Film Festival.

Keiko Mitsumatsu, Professor

Hiroyuki Nagashima, Professor

Nagashima’s work on the live sound remix of a movie directed by Sogo Ishii led to work on music and sound for numerous works spanning multiple media. His sound work for movies include Sogo Ishii’s Angel Dust, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Memories episode 3 – ‘Cannon Fodder’ (Taiho no machi), Shinji Aoyama’s Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachtani?, Kunitoshi Manda’s Seppun (The Kiss), Hiroshi Takahashi’s Kyofu (The Sylvian Experiments), and Makoto Shinozaki’s Sharing. He also performs with Dowser, an electronic music group.

Takefumi Tsutsui, Professor

Tsutsumi began making films while attending Tokyo Zokei University. He made his feature-length film directorial debut in 1987 with the silent movie Yumeko no daibouken. In addition to his work as a film editor and director, he has written countless film reviews. Tsutsui’s major films include Overdrive in 2004, Bahha no shozo (Bach’s Portrait) in 2010, and Kodokuna wakusei (Lonely Planet) in 2011. Recently he completed Fancy Free and Eizo no hakken=Matsumoto Toshio no jidai.

Sohei Tanikawa, Professor

Graduated from Nihon University College of Art, Department of Cinema. Mainly shoots films and TV dramas. Studied in the UK as part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs Overseas Study Program for Artists and serves on the board of the Japanese Society for Cinematographers. Main works as cinematographer include director Sion Sono’s Noriko’s Dinner Table, Love Exposure, Guilty of Romance, and Himizu; director Takashi Shimizu’s Kiki’s Delivery Service; director Satoshi Miki’s Adrift in Tokyo; director Yuichi Sato’s Kasane: Beauty and Fate; and director Hideki Takeuchi’s Fly Me to the Saitama and Daughter of Lupin.

Naoya Hatakeyama, Professor

Born 1958 in Rikuzentakata, Iwate. Received his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba in 1984. He is best known for his photographic studies of manmade and natural landscapes. Recipient of the 22nd Kimura Ihei Award, the 42nd Mainichi Art Award, and the 2011 Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize, among others. His works are in the collections of major museums around the world including MoMA, Tate, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. His many published photo collections include Lime Works, Underground, and Blast.

Takashi Kiriyama, Professor

Received his Doctor of Engineering from the Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Assumed his current position after working with Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE), Japan Science and Technology Agency, The University of Tokyo Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies. Fruits of his creative practice as the unit Euclid (together Professor Masahiko Sato) include Arithmetik Garden (2007), Pool of Fingerprints, The Nominal Divide (2010), and Hill of Reign (2015).

Eishi Katsura, Professor

Born 1959 in Nagasaki. Specializes in Media Studies and Library and Information Science. Received his master’s degree from the Graduate School of the University of Library and Information Science. He previously he worked as an assistant at the National Center for Science Information Systems (currently National Institute of Informatics), and as associate professor at Tokyo Zokei University. His publications include Interactive Mind, Ningen Kosai Jyutsu, and Mythology of Tokyo Disneyland. He is also involved in the planning of new public cultural facilities both in Japan and abroad.

Akira Takayama, Professor

Theater director, born 1969. Founder-director of the theater collective Port B. Takayama’s activities have expanded beyond the theater setting to encompass actual cities and communities, including installations and tour performances making use of urban locations. Recently, he has collaborated with practitioners in a number of different fields including art, tourism and urban-projects, expanding the possibilities of various genres with his theatrical ideas and concepts.

Hiroyuki Hattori Associate Professor

Curator. Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1978 and based in Aichi and Akita. Completed graduate school in architecture at Waseda University in 2006. Involved in diverse creative practices with artists and creators as art center curator, freelancer, and art school faculty member. Also develops projects with other creators and investigates the artistic practices of contemporaries in Asia. Cosmo-Eggs was exhibited in the Japan Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia in 2019.

Koji Yamamura, Professor

Born in 1964. Produced animated films for children such as Pacusi and Bavel’s Book in the 1990s. Mt.Head (2002) was nominated for the 75th Academy Award, received the grand prize at Annecy, Zagreb and six other film festivals, and was named one of the “100 Works of the 21st Century”; Franz Kafka’s “A Country Doctor” (2007) won the grand prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and seven other film festivals. He also illustrates children’s books, including Oyaoya Oyasai and Parade. He was recipient of the 30th Kawakita Award. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, executive board member of the Japanese chapter of the International Animated Film Association, and vice chairman of the Japan Animation Association.

Yuichi Ito, Professor

Animation director. Born in 1962. After working with the visual effects studio Shirogumi, and in computer graphics production, in 1998 he launched the animation studio I.TOON Ltd. and currently serves as its president. His many projects integrating multiple (mainly 3D) animation techniques include KNYACK!! (NHK Educational TV), broadcast for more than 20 years; Harbor Tale (2011), winner of Best Animated Film at the Zlin Film Festival (Czech Republic); the television commercial for Kao Kyukyutt o, and the animation software Claytown, which he co-supervised. He is on the board of directors of Japan Animation Association, and a member of ASIFA-JAPAN.

Mitsuko Okamoto, Professor

Former producer for NHK. From 2000, she planned and produced the TV program Digital Stadium, considered a gateway to success for budding film creators, and the event Digital Art Festival (DAF) Tokyo; from 2010, the series 2355 and 0655, both broadcast weekdays on NHK Educational TV, in collaboration with Professor Masahiko Sato of this graduate school; and from 2012, TECHNE: The Visual Workshop for Studying Filmmaking.

Taruto Fuyama, Professor

Ph.D. Began producing 3DCG animation in the 1990s. Since 2003 he has been developing devices for producing animation and holding interactive exhibitions and workshops at museums both in Japan and abroad. KOMA KOMA, his stop motion animation app, has had over 1,000,000 downloads worldwide. His practical research include the creation of personnel development programs through academic-industry collaborations and the application of animation in the field of mental health. He is a Vice President of the Japan Society for Animation Studies.

University of Southern California
Lippit Akira Mizuta, Distinguished Professor (2015-)

University of Southern California
Sofian Sieila, Distinguished Professor (2015-2016)

University of Southern California
Hanson Eric, Distinguished Professor (2015-2016)

University of Southern California
Michael Patterson, Distinguished Professor (2015-2016)

University of Southern California
Reckinger Candace, Distinguished Professor (2015-2016)

University of Southern California
Kratky Andreas, Distinguished Professor (2016-)

FEMIS
GLENN Pierre William, Distinguished Professor (2016-2017)

University of Southern California
Fink Michael, Distinguished Professor (2016-2017)

University of Southern California
Hollyn Norman, Distinguished Professor (2016-2019)

University of Southern California
Lemarchand Richard, Distinguished Professor (2017-2018)

FEMIS
Dedet Yann, Distinguished Professor (2017-2018)

FEMIS
Comets Jacque, Distinguished Professor (2018-2019)

FEMIS
CAUVIN Brice,Pierre,Henri, Distinguished Professor (2018-2019)

University of Southern California
Peter Brinson, Distinguished Professor (2019-)

Yukari Shiina, Guest Lecturer

Ryuta Miyake, Adjunct Instructor

Karen Severns, Visiting Professor