 |
Talk Doc To MeAuthor: Leah de Leon
Candid conversations on documentary storytelling hosted by Documentary Filmmaker Leah de Leon. Follow along on Instagram: www.instagram.com/talkdoctomepodcast Language: en Genres: Documentary, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Ema Ryan Yamazaki on Directing Japan’s First Oscar Nominated Short Documentary
Episode 8
Tuesday, 21 October, 2025
In this episode of Talk Doc To Me, we explore how Ema Ryan Yamazaki tells universal stories through a personal lens including her Oscar-nominated short doc “Instruments of a Beating Heart.”Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese/British documentary filmmaker with a unique perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan. After growing up in Osaka, she moved to New York to attend NYU and became an assistant editor to Sam Pollard. As an Editor, she worked on numerous projects with Marc Levin, including CLASS DIVIDE (2015). Ema has Directed/Edited three feature documentaries — THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE (2023), KOSHIEN: JAPAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS (2019), and MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS (2017). She has also recently served as Editor and Co-Producer for Shiori Ito’s BLACK BOX DIARIES, which premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance 2024. In 2025, Ema made history by being the first Japanese director nominated in the short documentary category.In this interview you will learn…- Ema’s path growing up Japanese-British- How she got her start as a documentary editor- How Ema balanced motherhood while directing Oscar-nominated “Instruments of a Beating Heart”Episode Resources & Links:Learn more about Ema’s work: https://www.emaexplorations.com/en/Talk Doc To Me is presented by Sundoc StudiosWatch on YouTubeConnect with Leah & Matthew on LinkedInFollow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedocumentarycouple
