Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Film Director　(Japan)

Born 1955 in Kobe, Kurosawa began making films in 8mm while attending Rikkyo University and made his commercial debut in 1983. Cure (1997) gained international recognition and many of his films have screened and won awards at various international film festivals. His credits include Pulse (2000), Tokyo Sonata (2008), Creepy (2016), and Daguerrotype (2016). His latest Before We Vanish (2017) was invited to screen in the Un Certain Regard section of the 70th Cannes Film Festival.

Seigo Fukada

Film Producer, Shochiku Broadcasting Co.,Ltd.　(Japan)

Born 1965 in Kanagawa, Fukada joined Shochiku in 1989. While programming a satellite broadcast channel, he also produced low budget projects. In 2004, he produced The Face of Jizo by Kazuo Kuroki and won the Special Fujimoto Award. In 2013, he launched the Shochiku Broadcasting Original Movie Project in order to discover new talent in directing and acting. In 2015, he produced Three Stories of Love by Ryosuke Hashiguchi and won the Fujimoto Honorable Mention Award. His credits include Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday by Shuichi Okita (2014) and Any Way the Wind Blows (2016)by Yuichiro Sakashita.

Sabrina Baracetti

President, Far East Film Festival　(Italy)

Born in Udine, Italy, Baracetti studied cinema at University of Trieste. In 1995 she became President of Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche, and ran two theaters in Udine. Committed to her passion for Asian Cinema, she launched Far East Film Festival, where she has been the festival president since 1999. She has also been serving as the Head of Sales and Acquisitions for Tucker Film since 2008.

Liz Shackleton

Asia Editor, Screen International　(UK, Hong Kong)

Based in Hong Kong, Shackleton is Asia Editor for Screen International and the founder of Chime Consulting, which helps Western companies work with the Chinese and Indian film industries. In her role at Screen International, she oversees the publication’s news, analysis and feature coverage of Asia’s multiple film industries, organizes and moderates seminar discussions and contributes to Screen’s print dailies at film festivals and markets around the world.

Shoji Masui

President, Altamira Pictures Inc., Film Producer　(Japan)

While working as a producer at Daiei, Masui produced Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t (1992). In 1993, Masui founded Altamira Pictures with Masayuki Suo and Itsumichi Isomura. Since then, he has produced Shall We Dance? (1996), Give It All (1998), Waterboys (2001), Swing Girls (2004), I Just Didn’t Do It (2007), Happy Flight (2008), Robo-G (2012), A Terminal Trust (2012), Lady Maiko (2014) as well as documentaries such as Takada Wataru Teki (2004) and more. His new films are Survival Family (2017) by Shinobu Yaguchi and Synchronizer (2017) by Kunitoshi Manda. Masui teaches in the Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts as a professor.

Hinako Saeki

Actress　(Japan)

Born 1977 in Nara, she made her debut as an actress in It's a Summer Vacation Everyday (1994), winning various awards including the Japan Academy Prize and the Fumiko Yamaji Award. Her credits include A Quiet Life (1995), The Spiral (1998), Gips (2001), and “Eko Eko Azarak”(1997 TV Series). She recently starred in Message Episode 1 (2016) and School of Nursing (2015). Her upcoming credits include Matsuri ni oyasumi (2017), Akai tasuki (2017), and Time Capsule (2018).

Don Brown

Japanese Film Translator　(New Zealand, Japan)

Born in New Zealand in 1974. Received a Bachelor of Communication Studies and Diploma in Japanese from Auckland University of Technology. Moved to Japan in 1999 to participate in the JET Programme as a Coordinator for International Relations for Kawachinagano City Hall in Osaka until 2002. Worked for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and the New Zealand Embassy in Japan before becoming a freelance translator specializing in Japanese film in 2010. Contributed column “One Take on Japanese Cinema” to the Asahi Shimbun’s English-language site AJW until 2016. Recent English subtitle translations include Before We Vanish (2017) and Tokyo Story (1953).

Masashi Koide

Animation Researcher, Professor of Tokyo Zokei University　(Japan)

Born 1957 in Aichi, Koide graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1982 and later began teaching there in 1988. He teaches Communication Design, Filmmaking, and Animation. He serves as a chairman for Japan Society for Animation Studies and New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival Committee. He also serves as a juror for PISAF, SICAF, Japan Media Arts Festival, and Bunka-Cho Film Awards. He co-wrote “Dictionary of Today’s Design”, “Eiga hyakka daijiten” and “Encyclopedia of Animation”.

Takashi Mawatari

Chairman of Animation Committee, Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan, Inc.　(Japan)

Born in 1959, Mawatari has worked on various animations, commercials, and special effect film shoots since 1981. In 1985, he began his career in computer graphics and worked on various commercials, promotional videos, and film productions in the field. In 2003, he established his own company and has continued to work in various fields including film, visual effects, and media. He is a CEO of Tokyo Performing Digital and teaches at Department of Information Expression at Shobi University.