BANGKOK – ADFEST is delighted to congratulate this year’s ‘Fabulous Four’ new directors, with three of these aspiring directors based in Tokyo, and another based in Dhaka.
Congratulations to:
- Erika Konno, TYO Camp KAZ, Tokyo
- Kazuhiko Hiramaki, Geek Pictures Inc., Tokyo
- Narumi Muranaka, TYO Camp KAZ, Tokyo
- Shihab Shajib, ZANALA Bangladesh Limited, Dhaka
Erika, Kazuhiko, Narumi and Shihab now have just weeks to cast, direct, shoot and edit their film scripts in time for their premiere at ADFEST 2016.
Erika’s short film is called ‘Brushing Up’; Kazuhiko’s film is ‘BPM’; Narumi’s film is ‘Beautiful Lie’; and Shihab’s film is ‘ERROR’. All four of these short films will be presented in a session moderated by Sihabutr Xoomsai, director at Triton Films, Bangkok, who is Jury President of the Film Craft Lotus and New Director Lotus Jury responsible for voting on this year’s script submissions.
“There were some wonderful scripts entered into Fab Four this year, but the four that scored the highest votes from our jury stood out because they combined a great idea with the elements of filmmaking: style, tone and character” says Xoomsai.
“When we voted on the scripts, we actually had no clue who wrote them or where these directors are located. So it’s exciting to see that three directors were selected from Japan this year, and one from Bangladesh – both countries that have very vibrant film industries.”
Every year, ADFEST invites new directors and assistant directors to write a five-minute short film script inspired by the festival’s theme, which this year is “Creative Intelligence”. Scripts were submitted from Brisbane, Dhaka, Fukuoka, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo with a total of 37 scripts entered, up from 33 last year.
“Being part of Fab Four can help the careers of new directors enormously. It is a hands-on and challenging experience. By giving the Fabulous Four only a couple of months to write, direct and produce a short film is definitely throwing them in the deep end, but the skills they learn and the exposure they get from presenting their short films live at ADFEST is invaluable,” says Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST.
Don’t miss the premiere of their short films in the ‘The Fabulous Four 2016’ session on Thursday 17th March, 11:30am. Delegate Passes to ADFEST 2016 – which runs from 16th to 19th March – are available via www.ADFEST.com
FABULOUS FOUR 2016
Erika Konno, Director, TYO Camp KAZ, Tokyo
Born in 1989, Erika graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts in 2013. Here, she studied photography, cinematography, and design and also gained profound knowledge of music while forming a techno-pop band of three female members and playing synthesizer during the school years.
After graduating, she joined TYO Inc., “the coolest TVCM production in Japan” as described by Erika herself.
In 2015, during the second year of her career at the company she directed “Tire Kimono” for TOYO TIRE & RUBBER, and it was highly evaluated internationally by winning a D&AD 2015 Yellow Pencil, CLIO Silver, and SPIKES ASIA Bronze.
Kazuhiko Hiramaki, Director, Geek Pictures Inc., Tokyo
Born in 1988, Kazuhiko Hiramaki showed a love for music as a child, which later led him to strike an interest in music videos and commercial film. After graduating from university, he enrolled in a technical college that specialized in video.
There, he became grounded in the basics of video and design, familiarizing himself with many films and video productions and broadening his editing skills by learning a number of 3DCG software programs like After Effects.
Joining Geek Pictures in 2013, he went through a one-year training period, then started his directorial career in 2014. He also works hands-on with title design and editing. Projects he has directed include works for the Ministry of the Environment, snack maker Meiji, Panasonic home electronics, and shooting for the world’s premier yacht race, America’s Cup.
Narumi Muranaka, Director, TYO Camp KAZ, Tokyo
Born in 1989, Narumi entered Ritsumeikan University in 2007 after a fateful encounter with her former teacher at high school, stepping into the world of visual image.
At university she participated in the movie production for a collaboration film between the University and a major movie company as a screenplay assistant and prop assistant. The film was invited to the Berlin Film Festival, and she walked the red carpet for its presentation.
This experience absolutely became a critical factor to in the launch of a real career in visual image creation. She joined TYO Inc. in 2012.
Shihab Shajib, Assistant Director of Audio Visual, ZANALA Bangladesh Limited, Dhaka
In 2015, Shihab had two options. One was to stay in his current job as a Senior User Experience/User Interface Designer in a Bangladeshi social network (www.beshto.com) or second was to complete his M.B.A. program at BRAC University and get a corporate job.
Instead of doing either of these, he decided to go in to a different direction to start all over again to pursue the things he loved. He always wanted to become a filmmaker because to him no jobs are as exciting as being a filmmaker.
Shihab doesn’t know where these roads will take him but he always believes that no one can create the future if that person doesn’t take risks.
