Photo Credit: John Tobe
On June 12, Minister SATO Masaru of the Japanese Embassy and USJC co-sponsored a special screening of a new documentary short film by USJC Associate and director Ema Ryan Yamazaki (Cineric Creative). The film, titled Instruments of a Beating Heart, follows first graders in a Tokyo public school and examines the Japanese education system’s efforts to balance self-sacrifice and human growth as it teaches the next generation to be part of Japanese society. The screening was followed by a lively conversation with Ema, expertly moderated by USJC Council Leader Dawn Yamane Hewett (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP). It was fascinating to hear from Ema about her creative process, the questions she explores in her film, and her perspective on the Japanese education system and larger societal issues. The audience was also lucky to have Ema’s husband and primary producer, Eric Nyari, present to share his perspective on their work together.
Raised in Osaka by a Japanese mother and a British father, Ema grew up navigating between Japanese and Western cultures. Ema studied filmmaking at New York University and uses her singular storytelling perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan to approach her subjects with unique sensitivity, authenticity, and insight. Many of Ema’s films ask the question of what makes Japan the way it is. An earlier documentary film by Ema, titled Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, focuses on the phenomenon of Japanese high school baseball, following two Japanese high school teams, including Shohei Otani’s alma mater, as they compete for a spot in the annual high school baseball tournament. Ema’s most recent documentary feature film, The Making of a Japanese, which is a companion film to Instruments of a Beating Heart, premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023 and is currently playing at festivals and in distribution around the world. You can read more about Ema in this New York Times profile.
The U.S.-Japan Council thanks Minister Sato, Fumiho Suzawa, and their colleagues at the Embassy of Japan for their support and partnership in hosting the screening. Minister Sato delivered warm and personal opening remarks informed by his own experience in Japanese elementary school that beautifully framed our evening, and Ms. Suzawa and her colleagues made sure that every detail was perfect. The U.S.-Japan Council thanks Ema and Eric for sharing their moving and thought-provoking film with us, and Dawn for facilitating a stimulating conversation with Ema, Eric, and our audience.
Thank you to USJC Co-Chair Susan Morita (JALD ’11) for the above written content.