| Home | | CORE PROGRAM SCHEDULE | LECTURERS | PARTICIPANTS | GALLERY | LECTURERS FUNAHASHI Atsushi Biography Funahashi Atsushi was born in Osaka, Japan, and graduated from Tokyo University with a B.A. in cinema studies. He moved to New York in 1997 and studied film directing at the School of Visual Arts. His debut feature "echoes" (01) was well received by critics and film festivals, winning three jury and audience awards at Annonay International Film Festival in France. The film has been theatrically distributed in the USA and Japan. His second film, "Big River" (06), starring Jo Odagiri, was selected for the Berlinale Co-Production Market and PPP (Pusan Promotion Plan) at its project stage. Produced by Office Kitano, the film was shown at various film festivals (including Berlin, Pusan, Karlovy Vary, Sao Paolo, and Shanghai) and was released worldwide by Celluloid Dreams Director's Label. Funahashi has also directed several HDTV documentaries on social issues and New York ethnic culture for NHK, Japan's public broadcasting network. One of these documentaries, "For the Joyful Moment of Life" (05), won a Telly Award. Funahashi moved back to Tokyo in 2007 and has started directing films in Japan. "Deep in the Valley" is his first Japanese film. << Back ▲ Page Top

The Tokyo Culture Creation Project is a project that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture have been executing in collaboration with various arts-related organizations. The Project's objectives are to create and promote arts and culture that are unique to Tokyo, to develop children's rich sensibilities through arts and culture, and to create various local cultural focal points in Tokyo. The Project's activities include organization of various art events; facilitation of collaborative art programs between residents of Tokyo and artists; and operation of programs to provide children with the opportunity to experience arts and culture.