Welshman John Williams first came to Japan in 1988, intending to stay two years, write a script and return to Britain to make a movie. He ended up making eight shorts, a documentary and finally a feature film -- the drama "Firefly Dreams" -- all in Japan and with Japanese casts and crews. Released in 2001, "Firefly Dreams" -- a homage to the traditional Japanese cinema Williams loved -- was an indie success in Japan and widely screened abroad.
His second film, the noirish mystery/thriller "Starfish Hotel," has also traveled the international festival circuit, winning awards and accolades, including the top prize in Luxembourg's Cinengyma Film Festival International Competition, but it is altogether different in budget, style and theme.
Williams himself has changed since his early days as a struggling filmmaker in Nagoya. Now based in Tokyo, he has his own production and distribution company, 100 Meter Films, which has helped with line production and more recently coproduction of a number of foreign films shot in Japan. He is also active as a producer, university lecturer and workshop facilitator.