Atsushi
Funahashi is from Osaka, Japan and graduated from Tokyo University
with a B.A. in cinema studies. Utilizing his cinema criticism background,
he wrote and directed short films and documentaries in Tokyo. After
receiving scholarships, he went to study film directing at the School
of Visual Arts in 1997, where he made a couple of narrative fictions.
In 1999 he has established Village Productions with Alyssa Jo Black
and Eric Van Den Brulle in order to create independent film homebase
out of commercial studios. His debut feature “echoes”
was well-received by critics & film festivals including three
Jury & Audience Awards at Annonay International Film Festival
in France and nominated for High Hope Award at the Munich International
Film Festival. The film has been theatrically distributed in the
US by Arrow Entertainment, New York based art film distributor.
ECHOES has been also distributed in Japan by Slow Learner, Inc,
Tokyo. Atsushi has also directed several HDTV documentaries for
NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting, on social issues and ethnic
culture of New York City. This year he has been alone selected by
Japanese government’s Agency of Cultural Affairs for its 2-year
overseas grant program to develop his 2nd directorial feature Big
River. This project was also selected for the Berlinale Co-Production
Market at the Berlin Film Festival and for the Project Involve,
a support program for minority filmmakers by Independent Feature
Project, New York.
Also
as a film critic Atsushi has been enthusiastically writing articles
for Japanese film/art critic magazines such as 10+1, Kinema-Junpo,
and Eureka.
Atsushi
Funahashi is from Osaka, Japan and graduated from Tokyo University
with a B.A. in cinema studies. Utilizing his cinema criticism background,
he wrote and directed short films and documentaries in Tokyo. After
receiving scholarships, he went to study film directing at the School
of Visual Arts in 1997, where he made a couple of narrative fictions.
In 1999 he has established Village Productions with Alyssa Jo Black
and Eric Van Den Brulle in order to create independent film homebase
out of commercial studios. His debut feature “echoes”
was well-received by critics & film festivals including three
Jury & Audience Awards at Annonay International Film Festival
in France and nominated for High Hope Award at the Munich International
Film Festival. The film has been theatrically distributed in the
US by Arrow Entertainment, New York based art film distributor.
ECHOES has been also distributed in Japan by Slow Learner, Inc,
Tokyo. Atsushi has also directed several HDTV documentaries for
NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting, on social issues and ethnic
culture of New York City. This year he has been alone selected by
Japanese government’s Agency of Cultural Affairs for its 2-year
overseas grant program to develop his 2nd directorial feature Big
River. This project was also selected for the Berlinale Co-Production
Market at the Berlin Film Festival and for the Project Involve,
a support program for minority filmmakers by Independent Feature
Project, New York.