Today we’d like to introduce you to Akiko Izumitani
Hi Akiko, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Japan. It was 1984 or 1985; my brother showed me a brochure of the movie, Gremlins. I asked him what this was, and he said, “It’s a movie.” That was when I recognized the “movie.” I grew up watching Hollywood movies behind my brother’s back. He was a movie buff. Through him, I realized the power of film. Movies gradually enchanted me.
In 1992, The Silence of the Lambs won many Oscars, and when I watched it for the first time, I did not understand why this film had won that many awards. So, I watched it again and again and again and realized why this film was so good. That was how I became fascinated with filmmaking.
One day, my school brought students to watch the play about Chiune Sugihara, a diplomat in Lithuania who saved more than 6,000 Jewish refugees during WWII. I was a typical high school kid hating the school activity and was reluctant to watch the play. But I had to because it was a school activity. After watching it, I was impressed that the play was so powerful that it could convey an unknown story to someone like me. Then I watched Schindler’s List. It was shocking and painful, but people needed to know that the incident happened. That’s how I started thinking about filmmaking and decided to make movies that would change many people’s life and their point of view.
However, the problem was I lived in a suburban area in Japan. There were no film theaters in my city. I did not know anyone who was a filmmaker. I asked my high school teacher how I could be a film director, and he said he heard UCLA was the best film school in the world. I asked my parents to send me to a film school at UCLA, but of course, they said no. So I kept begging them for six months, and they finally approved me to study abroad under certain conditions.
I first went to a city college to save on tuition. It was incredibly tough because I barely spoke English. My school counselor told me to give up the hope of getting into UCLA Film School. They only took fifteen students from around the world (and fifteen from UCLA’s lower division), and it’s challenging for even American students to get in. She thought I should study for something else because my English was not great then. My screenwriting teacher, who graduated from UCLA Film School, told me not to listen to her, so I kept studying for film school and didn’t study for other majors. Finally, I was accepted by both UCLA and USC Film School and chose UCLA.
The film school was very academic, but I was happy I was in the dream place. After graduating from UCLA, I received a job offer from Universal Studio’s Editorial department, where I interned, a dream job for many editors in Hollywood. However, they could not hire me because I didn’t have a green card. The solicitor told me I would have to give up working in the US because the government would not give me a working visa. After all, my Bachelor’s degree is in film and television, and it’s too specific. They couldn’t convince the government why Universal Studio would have to hire an assistant to the editor who barely spoke English when a thousand American editors wanted the job.
I got an office job in a Japanese production company and then got a job at DVCC as a Quality Control technician with H1-B visa. While I had a full-time job, I worked on the documentary during the nights and weekends. It took me seven years to complete this documentary, but it won the best feature film at the Beijing Movie Festival. At one of the film festivals, I told a filmmaker I was frustrated because people didn’t see me as a director because I looked like an actress. After watching the film, he came to me and apologized to me. He said he was not taking me seriously when I shared my frustration, but he agreed that I was a director. Ironically, that became my first assurance that people did not take me seriously for my looks. (Laugh) But a sales agent contacted me to sell my film after he watched the documentary. I was so happy about it.
In 2012, I finally received a green card through my work. That nourished my filmmaking dreams again, and I started filming short films while I wrote feature film scripts. First, I made a one-minute action comedy and worked with friends to make their comedy web series. Then I enjoyed it very much and wanted to make another one soon. I made a four-minute horror film. It became a semi-finalist in the NBCUniversal Shortcuts competition. I went to the event and tried to stand in front of the camera on the red carpet. Then, they wanted to kick me out because they thought I was an actress again. Other candidates had to tell them I was one of the candidates. I thought that if I made a kick-ass action film that men don’t make, people would take me seriously. So I made an action film called “The Other Side.” Again, at one of the screenings, I got a similar treatment. I expected it, but it was still sad. A few years after, the Me Too movement happened. I was surprised at how many female directors were treated as non-existent and not getting equal opportunities.
After making three short films, I tried to raise money for a feature I wrote. I helped a film production company as a translator for Japanese investors and learned film financing. One investor said he would consider investing in my film, but the pandemic happened. No one wanted to put money into a movie anymore.
During a pandemic, I saw a post that said “Bullet Train” was looking for Japanese background actors. I was not doing anything during the pandemic, so why not try the acting gig? I got a job. On set, I asked a camera operator about the camera equipment. The First AD saw me and asked me why I was talking to a camera operator. I explained to him that I was curious because I also make films. Then, at the time, someone was trying to hire me as an art PO of G.I. Joe, and another independent film producer asked me to be an assistant to a producer. I asked the First AD which one might help my career, and he said, “Do you want to work for us as a Set PA and see what it’s like?” So, of course, I said yes. Since then, I worked on several films and TV and learned about big-budget union productions.
While working as a Set PA during the pandemic, I felt I would have to give up the idea of making a feature film for a while, but I wanted to make something Japanese. I was tired of hearing, “She doesn’t have enough experience.” I decided to make a samurai short film called “Yae: Blind Samurai Woman.” It won several awards in film festivals. After the film festival run, I posted on YouTube, and it had over 570K views. Many people left positive comments and were excited and wanted to watch more.
My co-writer and I felt the character we created was unique and amazing. We wanted to make this evolve into a TV series first, so we wrote a pilot and the series bible. Then, someone wanted to make the short film into a stageplay, so we also wrote a stageplay. Writing the stageplay taught us more about these characters. Then, we decided to write a feature version and just completed it. Now, I’m looking for a producer to make my dream to direct the first narrative feature come true.
After the pandemic, I got a job at Aniplex and am now a supervising producer. We dubbed Japanese anime such as Demon Slayer, Gurren Lagann, Sword Art Online, and many more. At Aniplex, I learned a lot about localization and how to convey Japanese culture to the Western audience. It’s tough to write scripts every day when I have a full-time job with high responsibility, but I’m definitely working toward my dream. “
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
English is the second language for me. I came to the U.S. by myself. I didn’t know anyone. I had to learn the American culture. I had to get a working visa to work in the U.S. I am a female Asian director. I had to overcome all the obstacles to make my dream come true and I’m still working on it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I directed a short film called “Yae: Blind Samurai Woman.” It has over 570k views on YouTube now.
Many people said I must keep making a film like this. They were tired of a big-budget Hollywood movie without good characters. They miss films with good characters to teach the audience morals. Also, I believe I did a good job of showcasing the Japanese culture in a way the American audience could understand.
Now, I am trying to make this into a feature film.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I saw so many people were depressed and angry. I tried to focus on keeping good health and doing what I could at the time to keep moving forward to my dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2102124/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directorakiko/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akiko.izumitani/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@directorakiko
Image Credits
Akiko Izumitani
