Ema
Ryan
Yamazaki
Ryan
Yamazaki
Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese/British documentary filmmaker based in Tokyo, with roots in New York. With a unique perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan, Ema strives to tell stories that empathetically show human struggle and triumph.
Ema is the Director of INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART and Editor of BLACK BOX DIARIES, which were both nominated for the Academy Awards in 2025. She has directed three acclaimed feature documentaries; THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE, KOSHIEN: JAPAN'S FIELD OF DREAMS, and MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE'S CREATORS
Works
About
Born in Kobe, and raised by a Japanese mother and British father, Ema grew up navigating between cultures. As a teenager, Ema's passion was modern dance, through which she learned discipline and self-expression.
Her interest in filmmaking began in middle school, when she was given the opportunity to tell stories using a video camera.
When she was 19, she moved to New York and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, focusing on documentary and editing. Upon graduating from NYU, she began her career as an assistant editor, mentored by documentary mogul Sam Pollard.
In 2014, Ema was an editor on CNN's docu-series CHICAGOLAND, executive produced by Robert Redford. She went on to edit and co-produce CLASS DIVIDE, an HBO documentary directed by Marc Levin, which won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC in 2015.
In 2017, Ema's first feature length documentary, MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE'S CREATORS, was released worldwide.
The documentary uses animation, archival materials and interviews to tell the incredible story of Hans and Margret Rey, the authors of the beloved children's book series, Curious George. Ema successfully raised over $186,000 on Kickstarter to fund the film.
Acquired by Hulu, it premiered at the LA Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Nantucket Film Festival.
Having lived in New York for almost a decade, Ema developed a new perspective toward her homeland of Japan, gaining an appreciation for the core values that had shaped her own character. With a desire to tell more complex stories about Japan than what is typically available in international media, Ema decided to create a base in Tokyo from the spring of 2017.
Ema’s second feature documentary KOSHIEN: JAPAN'S FIELD OF DREAMS, explores the cultural phenomenon of Japanese high school baseball as a microcosm of Japanese society.
In 2018, Ema embarked on her second feature documentary KOSHIEN: JAPAN'S FIELD OF DREAMS, exploring the cultural phenomenon of Japanese high school baseball as a microcosm of Japanese society.
In co-production with NHK, the film is an intimate and dramatic journey following coaches and players from two high schools - including MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani's alma mater, Hanamaki Higashi - during the historic 100th summer Koshien tournament. KOSHIEN examines the past, present, and future of Japan's national obsession, as it struggles to balance character building traditions with more moderate ways to educate the next generation of successful adults.
After premiering at DOC NYC, the film aired in primetime on ESPN in 2020 and was released theatrically in Japan. It became a New York Times recommendation and was featured on The Criterion Channel.
Ema's third and latest feature, THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE, intimately follows 1st and 6th graders for one year at a public elementary school in Tokyo, observing kids learning the traits necessary to become part of Japanese society. Having attended Japanese elementary school herself, the film comes from Ema's belief that the foundation of Japanese society can be seen in the school system.
The film made its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023, with the international premiere at Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. It was distributed in over 30 countries around the world including airing on PBS, France Télévisions, and YLE, and became a huge box office hit in Japan, released in over 100 theaters.
INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART, the New York Times Op-Docs version of the elementary school project, was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short in 2025, making Ema the first Japanese director with a Japanese film to be nominated in the category. The film also won Best Short Documentary at the IDA Documentary Awards, and became one of the most watched Op-Docs in The New York Times’ history.
Ema remains active as an editor. Her work includes Shiori Ito's BLACK BOX DIARIES, nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary in 2025.
She served as both Co-Director and Supervising Editor on director Naomi Kawase's OFFICIAL FILM OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020, which premiered at Cannes 2022.
In addition, Ema’s short documentary WHEELS OF FATE: THE STORY OF THE RICKSHAW MAN which explores the fateful history of Japan's singular humanist film made during World War II, premiered together with the 4K restoration of THE RICKSHAW MAN in the Venice Film Festival's Classics section in 2020. Ema has made a number of TV and short documentaries for NHK, the public broadcaster of Japan, including; a 47-part mini-series that aired in tandem with its annual historical “Taiga” drama, IDATEN, featuring stories about the history of Japan, sports, and its Olympic quest; CHAYA: AILEY'S KEEPER OF THE FLAME, featuring the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's long-time Japanese Associate Artistic Director, Masazumi Chaya; and TEMPLE FAMILY, following the colorful family that runs the 800-year-old Horenji Temple in Kyoto, exploring the balance of tradition with progress, around the topic of gender. She also served as an Executive Producer for director Neo Sora’s acclaimed narrative feature debut, HAPPYEND, which premiered at Venice 2024.
In 2025, Ema became a founding member and teacher at the DDDD film school. Ema’s lifelong goal is to continue building a documentary community in Japan that empowers storytelling by local filmmakers and brings the medium further into the mainstream of society.
Ema married film producer Eric Nyari in 2017, and they frequently collaborate as creative partners.
Contact
Cineric Creative
Cineric Creative is an independent production company based in New York and Tokyo. It is especially focused on international co-productions with Japan, where it has a strong reputation for helping to realize ambitious art-house films. The company provides local production services projects with Japanese elements, including field producing, editing, trailer-making, translation, and subtitles.
cinericcreative.comteam@cinericcreative.com