Ashi Films is a collaboration between Tokyo based filmmakers, Fuyuko Mochizuki and John Enos centered on documentary and branded film productions from Japan.
Launched in 2016, our more than 80 short documentary style films have covered everything from traditional free divers in Japan to Syrian refugee camps in Greece.
In 2019, we produced the Japan portion of the highly acclaimed Netflix series “HIGH SCORE”. We directed and produced the documentary “Beauty and Buddhism” which was a finalist at the 2020 Tribeca X Film Festival.
“In the Eyes of Children”, our 2016 independent short was chosen as an official selection to 7 different international film festivals from Sydney to New York.
Our nimble team of Tokyo based filmmakers offers a flexible solution of producers, translators and directors for co-productions with external production and service companies from places like Singapore, California, and Europe on branded film projects for companies like Patagonia, to feature length documentaries for foreign audiences. To find out why many of our films go viral, some with over 20 million views, take a look at our at our work below.
Based along the Nakameguro river in Tokyo, our Tokyo based filmmakers and production team manages a variety of documentary projects and branded video assignments for clients such as Netflix, CNN, Channel News Asia, VICE Media, ANA Airways, Genesis Cars, and Patagonia.
Latest Work
Ashi Films Independent Films
“BOZE” 2019
Within the Tokara archipelago lies the remote Japanese island of Akuseki-Jima, or rather “Evil Rock Island”. Home to 83 residents, and one mysterious creature called BOZE, this is a community unlike any others in Japan, one that accepts all that arrives from the sea, even a lost boy.
Cast: Koki Hisanaga, Kazunori Arikawa, Miyo Hisanaga
Director: Fuyuko Mochizuki, DP: John Enos Producer, Producer: Yusaku Kanagawa, Editor: Fuyuko Mochizuki, Sound Mixer: Rob Mayes
Year: 2019 Runtime: 14 minutes 25 seconds
“In The Eyes Of Children” 2016
Inspired on our visit to Ritsona Refugee Camp, Greece during the summer of 2016.
Over the past few years, many documentaries have been made about the refugee crisis and the refugees in Greece. We had a desire to make a documentary that told the story from a new perspective. We feel that although it’s too overwhelming to consider our lives as refugees, perhaps we could relate to how it feels to help someone in need and how that experience enriches our lives.
Made on a shoestring budget, our documentary focuses on the life and work of a middle aged Greek photographer who found his own identity by becoming an integral part of the refugees lives in the camp near his home by initiating a Tuesday movie night for the children.
Vassilis Nikas, a Greek photographer who has made it his priority to replace despair with hope and smiles by being true to not only his own core beliefs but all of ours.
The summer of 2021 our film will be playing atLieu d’Europe,in companion with an expansive exhibition of Vassilis Nikas photography from the refugee camp.