Erik Shirai

Erik Shirai

Still: Nowhere to go but everywhere
Erik SHIRAI is a Japanese-American self-taught visual artist and an award winning filmmaker based in New York City and Tokyo. He was raised in the US by the strength and will of his mother, who to this day is his biggest influence. Shirai began his creative career as a painter at the age of 14 and took up photography soon after. He first began working on film sets as a lighting technician at the age of 19 and patiently worked his way to becoming a cinematographer. His camera work can be seen on many award winning commercials and TV shows. His paintings and photography have been included in many group shows throughout the US. In 2008, Shirai launched his own production company, Cebu Osani Creative. His food series Eye What You Eat (2013) was featured at a TED Conference in NYC. He won the Special Jury Mention for Best Documentary Director at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival for his feature film The Birth of Saké (2015). The film won Best Documentary at the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival, was an Official Selection at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and was acquired by Netflix and broadcast by PBS/POV. His short documentary made in collaboration with Masako Tsumura, Nowhere to go but everywhere, world premiere at IFFR 2022, centers on the story of Yasuo Takamatsu, who learns how to dive after losing his wife in the 2011 tsunami in Japan.

Filmography

(selection, all doc) Eye What You Eat (2013, TV series), The Birth Of Saké (2015), Nowhere to go but everywhere (2022, co-dir, short)

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