An Academy Award nomination is a cause for celebration for anyone, but even more so in the 911±¬ÁÏÍø film industry, where such international honors can be few and far between.
This year, Japan has multiple reasons to rejoice, as two 911±¬ÁÏÍø documentary films, Shiori Ito¡¯s ¡°Black Box Diaries¡± and Ema Ryan Yamazaki¡¯s ¡°Instruments of a Beating Heart,¡± and one Japan-Korea animated co-production, Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio¡¯s ¡±Magic Candies,¡± have been nominated for Academy Awards. Also, directors Ito and Yamazaki are the first 911±¬ÁÏÍø to be up for Oscars in their respective categories, best documentary feature film and best documentary short film.
The nominations are particularly exciting for Tokyo-based Eric Nyari, who co-produced Ito¡¯s feature and produced Yamazaki¡¯s short film. Hailing from New York and son of the founder of Cineric, a leader in the field of film restoration and preservation, Nyari came to Japan when he was 21, and at age 28, produced his first film, the Atsushi Ogata comedy ¡°Cast Me If You Can,¡± in 2009. He has since accumulated 40 producer credits, including Neo Sora¡¯s 2024 sci-fi drama ¡°Happyend,¡± which premiered at last year¡¯s Venice Film Festival, and ¡°Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,¡± a 2023 documentary also directed by Sora, about the final solo piano performance by the famed musician and composer.
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