Showtime at Japan Expert Insights

This week, our guest is Roland Kelts, an award-winning journalist and the author of “Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US” and “The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus.” He writes for publications in the US, Japan and Europe, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Statesman, The Times Literary Supplement, Nikkei Asia and The Japan Times, among others,...

Our guest today is a filmmaker whose work fearlessly explores the fringes of Japanese society with both grit and a profound sense of empathy. We are diving deep into the life and career of Eiji Uchida, the visionary director behind Midnight Swan and Lowlife Love. In this episode, we talk about how he chooses the stories to tell, lessons from working in the industry, and the future of Japanese cinema. Whether you are a longtime fan ...

This week on Showtime at Japan Expert Insights, Maya Matsuoka and Michael Foster are taking a deep dive into the 2025 film Rental Family. Directed by the visionary Hikari, this poignant dramedy follows an American actor in Tokyo who joins a daiko agency to play various roles for hire. We will explore how Hikari utilizes the real world industry of Japanese rental services to examine the concept of tatemae and the blurred lines betwe...

Welcome back to week two of Asian Pop-up Cinema. Today, our special guest is the visionary director Mipo O. A graduate of Osaka University of Arts and a former protégé of Nobuhiko Obayashi, Oh has established herself as a master of intimate, empathetic storytelling. She gained international acclaim with The Light Shines Only There, which served as Japan’s official Oscar submission in 2014. We are focusing today on her powerful retu...

We are back at the 2026 edition of Asian Pop-Up Cinema here in Chicago. For today’s podcast episode, we are sitting down for an in-person interview with director Satoko Yokohama to discuss her latest feature film, Seaside Serendipity.
The film follows a group of teenagers in a small seaside town that has become a magnet for artists from across the country. Over the course of one summer, these young creators throw themselves into...

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Asian Pop-Up Cinema here in Chicago. For today’s podcast episode, we are sitting down for an in-person interview with director Yukihiro Morigaki to discuss his latest feature film, The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat.
The story centers on eight-year-old Yamabuki, a young boy caught in the crossfire of his dysfunctional family. To cope with their constant antics, he begins petting an imaginary dog a...

Our next guest is a powerhouse in the international film community. Yuki Sakamoto Solomon is a Chicago-based producer, festival director, and the founder of Coyote Sun Productions. With a career spanning Japanese public broadcasting and serving as a juror at the Chicago International Film Festival, Yuki has dedicated her work to connecting Japanese filmmakers with American audiences. She is a co-founder of the Chicago Japan Film Co...

Our next guest is Sophia Wong Boccio. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sophia’s deep roots in the film industry began with her parents’ careers as a prominent editor and actress. She launched her professional journey in the 1990s by creating the Sophia’s Choice movie series in Beijing and later curating film festivals in Sydney. After relocating to Chicago in 2000, she served in leadership roles for the Chicago International Film Fest...

Maya Tanaka Allwardt is an actor and musician originally from the Bay Area. She is a recent Jeff Award nominee for her role as Little Sally in Theo Ubique’s Urinetown. You can also see her on screen as Amy Keening on season 11 of Chicago Med. Maya is active in the improv/comedy world and was a recipient of Second City’s inaugural Victor Wong Fellowship in 2023, along with being an ensemble member with Chicago’s longest running asia...

This week’s guest is Harry Wright, the founder of All Things Japan and the visionary behind a developing historical project titled The Black Ships: A Sea of Change. Drawing on his deep cultural fluency and a career as a retired U.S. Navy officer living in Japan, Harry is currently crafting a narrative that explores the 1853 arrival of Commodore Perry. This project aims to spotlight overlooked perspectives, including those of Black ...

There is a secret hidden at the summit of a Japanese volcano... and it isn't a myth. It’s canon.Did you know that within the official Harry Potter canon, there is a premier Wizarding School located in Japan? Situated at the summit of the volcanic island of Minami Iwo Jima, the school of Mahoutokoro stands as a fascinating bridge between ancient tradition and magical education.In this episode of the podcast, we go beyond the boo...

Organized by the Chicago Japan Film Collective, this special in-person conversation with Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle, writers of Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director, talks about the life and career of Japanese director Ishiro Honda, focusing on his films, war experiences, and friendship with Akira Kurosawa. Over a span of 46 feature films, Honda became a pioneer of the modern disaster genre and Japan's most internationally...

This week's guest is Ron Reid Jr., a Toronto native who originally traveled to Japan with just $400 in his pocket and has since established himself as a prominent filmmaker and actor in Tokyo. His award-winning documentary work includes 614, which chronicles a pastor's vision to aid communities by living amongst them, as well as Love Letter to Kumamoto, a project born from his earthquake relief efforts. On screen, Ron has appeared ...

Our next guest is Aki Takabatake, the founder and CEO of Momo Films Inc., a Toronto-based boutique film distribution company specializing in Japanese cinema. A University of British Columbia graduate, she began her career as a film buyer in Tokyo and has since held diverse roles in Toronto, including with the Toronto International Film Festival and on productions like Netflix's Age of Samurai and Apple TV +'s Pachinko Season 2. For...

In this episode, we meet Megumi Nishikura, a US-based documentary filmmaker whose work explores identity, belonging, and the cultural intersections between Japan and the world. Her feature documentary film “Hafu – the mixed race experience” screened theatrically throughout Japan and aired on PBS and NipponTV. She produced “Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides,” which aired globally on BBC World News. In 2019, Meg...

Tokyo-based Japanese film producer Kanako Fujita is the founder of Felis Pictures Ltd. and a graduate of King’s College London, where she earned her degree in Film Studies. A participant of Rotterdam Lab 2025 and the Busan Producer Hub 2024, she specializes in Asian–European co-productions that bridge cultures and explore the moral and emotional complexities of modern society.Her first feature as a producer, Dead Fishes (2022, dir....

This week’s guest is Takashi Horie, a New York-based independent filmmaker. Born in Sendai, Miyagi, he graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1996.Since then, Horie has built a versatile career as a director, cinematographer, and editor, creating numerous award-winning music and promotional videos in the U.S. His short film, Ordinary Days, was nominated and screened at various film festivals. His most recent feature, Th...

This week, we once again welcome Kanako Horii. Born in Chicago, Kanako spent most of her life in Tokyo before returning to the U.S. decades later to make it her home once more. Her passion for launching creative projects with a social purpose led her to develop the card game "SHAKE HANDS" as part of an enablement project with Enable Partners LLC. In this special episode, we'll take a deep dive and an introductory cour...