Jeremy Thomas – Working with Japanese Film Directors

This event will start at 12pm BST

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Fully booked

Session description

In this webinar, chaired by film producer Shozo Ichiyama, legendary Oscar-winning auteur and film producer Jeremy Thomas discussed the cultural influences surrounding Japanese cinema and what drew him to work with Japanese directors and actors, and explored creative approaches to scripted projects that break through with international audiences.

Anglo-Japanese creative sessions for the screen industries

The Jeremy Thomas masterclass was hosted by the Daiwa Foundation as part of a wider joint initiative between the Producers’ Alliance in Cinema and Television, PR agency Percy Warren and executive producer Katherine Parsons. The aim of this series of masterclasses is to increase creative opportunities and co-productions between the Japanese and UK screen industries.

Partner organisations: Pact, Percy & Warren

Session producer: Katherine Parsons, Executive Producer

Below is a written summary of the seminar:

Written Summary, Jeremy Thomas – Working with Japanese Film Directors, PDF

A video of the event can be watched here:

A short summary of the event can be found here, located on the Foundation’s Facebook page.

About the contributors

Jeremy Thomas

Jeremy Thomas has worked with some of the world’s greatest directors including Nicolas Roeg, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, and Terry Gilliam. His love of Asian cinema drew him to Japan where he formed a close friendship with Nagisa Ōshima making Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. Thomas went on to produce Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, winner of 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture. He produced Brother by Takeshi Kitano, and has also produced four films with Takashi Miike, including 13 Assassins. He continues to work with Miike today. Thomas was Chairman of the British Film Institute from 1993-1997, and has received a number of awards including a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema and a CBE for his services to film.

Shozo Ichiyama

Shozo Ichiyama (Chair) produced the films of actor/director Takeshi Kitano, Hou Hsiao-sien and Jia Zhang-ke. He and Jeremy Thomas worked together to produce Kitano’s Brother (2000). Jia Zhang-ke’s Ash Is Purest White was selected for Cannes in 2018. He is the Programme Director of Tokyo International Film Festival.