Director Akio Fujimoto pushes for more diversity in Japanese film
When Akio Fujimoto cast three Vietnamese actresses in a movie about the Vietnamese experience, he was actually doing something rather rare in the Japanese film industry.
The Vietnamese technical trainees in "Along the Sea" are seldom seen or heard in Japanese society, but the actors' performances make it hard to look away.
Film spotlights Vietnamese temporary workers' plight in Japan
When director Akio Fujimoto's "Along the Sea" reaches theaters nationwide next spring, he hopes the plight of Vietnamese temporary workers depicted in the film will show the exploitative reality their like face in Japan at times. A co-production with a Vietnamese film company, the movie ...
Akio Fujimoto trades drama for authenticity in film about the refugee experience
Akio Fujimoto's "Passage of Life," a drama about the struggles of a Myanmar family in Japan and the troubled return of a mother and her children to Yangon, premiered at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival before continuing on to win honors and acclaim ...
'Passage of Life': A family drama that treats refugees with respect
Hollywood films about the immigrant experience are common enough (see "The Godfather" and other classic gangster movies for examples), while Japanese films on the same topic are rare, save for those about Zainichi (ethnic Koreans) in Japan. (Among the best is Zainichi director Yoichi ...
