JOHN WILLIAMS
John Williams is originally from Wales in the UK. He moved to Japan in 1988 to teach English and began to make 8mm films in Nagoya. After making several short and medium length films in Nagoya, he wrote, directed, and produced his first feature-length film, Firefly Dreams. The film was won numerous awards and was released theatrically in Japan to critical acclaim. He followed Firefly Dreams with five more feature-length films, including one documentary. Two of these are currently in post-production. He has worked as a scriptwriter or adviser on scripts and as a development consultant for domestic and international projects. More recently he has also written and directed plays performed in Japanese. He is currently developing two TV streaming series and two feature films. As a writer/director he is particularly drawn to stories set in remote rural areas in Japan and has a particular love of Sado Island, where he has shot three projects so far. He also teaches Film Production at Sophia University.
SHOHEI SHIOZAKI
Shohei Shiozaki is originally from the Nara region in Japan. He went to the US at the age of 18 to study film in San Jose State University and lived there for six years, working as a fixer for Japanese productions after graduation. In 2003 he returned to Japan and joined 100 Meter Films, where he worked as an AD and Production Manager on international co-productions and Japanese films starring foreign actors. He was Line Producer on the Japanese/Dutch co-production, Megumi, (dir. Mirjam Van Veelen), and has produced three of John Williams’ feature films, Sado Tempest (2007), Shinpan (The Trial) (2018) and Tabi (2023, In Post-Production.) He manages 100 Meter Films, but also writes and directs. His first feature, Goldfish Go Home (2011) (Akane Iro No Yakusoku) ran for five months in local cinemas and his second, Family Matters, was well-received in Japan. He is active as a producer for local TV in Kansai and produces shorts by young Japanese directors.