• Kenji Hayasaki

      Director/Producer

      Kenji Hayasaki was born and raised in Japan. Having grown up with strong influence of American culture and cinema, he has moved to the U.S. as a teenager by himself.

       

      Since graduating from Tisch School of the Arts, Kenji has directed and produced numerous projects. Many of his works are screened in film festivals and highly recognized by industry professionals.

       

      While he maintains creative independence as a filmmaker, Kenji has worked on hundreds of productions as a key personnel, many of which come from his home country Japan.

       

      Kenji has also co-produced feature film “Out of My Hand”, which premiered in Berlinale, nominated at the Independent Spirit Awards, and distributed by Array.

       

      He is currently working on an independent documentary film on Navajo people, and its short version "Forgotten People" has been selected by several film festivals.

       

       

    • Selected Director Works

      Ol' Fren

      Music Video

      Artist: Oyasaba

      Label: The Flatbush Sound

       

      Director/Producer/Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Director of Photography: Bob Geile

      Cast: Rhasaan Oyasaba Manning /Daiichiro Yuyama

       

      Oh When My Lady Comes

      Music Video

      Artist: Micah Gaugh Trio

      Label: African Tape

       

      Director/Producer/Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Director of Photography: Mira Steinzor

      Hair and Make-up: Kimiyuki Misawa

      Cast: Micah Gaugh/ Lorrain Rigan

      Cyborgata

      Music Video

      Artist: Ari Why

      Label: BNS Sessions

       

      Director/Producer: Kenji Hayasaki

      Director of Photography: Jun Oshima

      Hair and Make-up: Tsuyoshi Watanabe/ Hiroe Goto

      Editor: Takeshi Fukunaga

      Cast: Diogo De Lima/ Ana Lucia Souza

      Cycle Mode International

      TV/ Web Commercial

      Client: Cycle Mode International / TV Osaka

       

      Director/Producer/Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Director of Photography: Owen Donovan

       

      Sprush

      Web Commercial

      Client: BluSand

       

      Director/Producer/Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Director of Photography: Bob Geile

      Hair and Make-Up: Gina Marie Picciotto

      Navigator: Elena Koshivaki-Hasbun

       

      Other Videos created for BluSand

       

      Brain Bug

      Narrative Short

      Director/Producer/Writer/ Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Co-Producer: Rei Hayashi

      Director of Photography: Ryo Murakami

      Sound Designer: Daniel Schlett

      Cast: Christopher Hollowell, Jamahl Garrison-Lowe, Philip Stark, Sumire Taya, Carly Tryens

       

      Forgotten People

      Documentary Short

      Director/Producer/Writer/ Editor: Kenji Hayasaki

      Sound Designer: Robert Lombardo

      Music: 4a Stables

       

      *Currently on the film festival run

       

    • Selected Producer Works

      Out of My Hand

      Associate Producer

      Narrative Feature

       

      Director/Writer: Takeshi Fukunaga

      Producer/Writer: Donari Braxton

      Producer: Mike Fox

      Director of Photography: Ryo Murakami & Owen Donovan

      Editor: Takeshi Fukunaga & Eugene Yi

      Cast: Bishop Blay, Zenobia Taylor, Duke Murphy Dennis, Rodney Rogers Beckley

       

      Tell Yo Papa

      Line Producer

      Music Video

       

      Artist: IFÉ

      Director/Editor: Amy Leonard

      Director of Photography: Kevin Hayden

      Art Director: TV Alexander

      Hair: Marco Testa

      Make Up: Chad Maxwell

      Japanese Productions

      U.S. Line Producer/ Field Producer / UPM / Coordinator

      *Demo reel is password protected due to copyright policy in Japan. Please contact to view.

      •Bilingual productions ranging from high end commercials to TV documentaries that are produced in Japan and filmed in the U.S.

       

      •List of Clients include: NHK, Fuji TV, Nippon TV, TBS, TV Asahi, WOWOW, Hakuhodo, Dentsu, among many others

       

      •Work examples (featured in local media): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

       

    • Editor/Shooter/Visual Works

      Editor

      • Japan Day at Central Park (partial)
      • NY Streets (NHK documentary series: 1 episode)
      • CAN: Conscious Action Network (partial)
      • National Jazz Museum in Harlem
      • Nike: See Me (1 episode)
      • Company / Individual Demo Reels​

      Live Videographer

      Visual Artist/ VJ

      • Space Playground @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
      • Benefit for the Monmouth County Women’s Shelter @ Asbury Lanes
      • Benefit the Brazil Child Health Organization @ Don Pedro’s
      • The Ricecookers Japan Live Tour @ Shibuya LaMama and other venues
      • Brooklyn Wildlife Summer Festival @ PaperBox
      • Japanese Invasion @ Monkeytown
      • BNS Sessions Record Release Party @ Vanishing Point
      • Visual Samples

    • Festivals / Screenings

      <Film Festivals: As Director>

      Forgotten People (2020 ~ 2021)

      American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA/Virtual)

      Red Nation International Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA/ Virtual)

      Minikino Film Week (Bali, Indonesia)

      Durango Independent Film Festival (Durango, CO)

       

      Ol' Fren (2016)

      European Media Art Festival (Osnabruck, Germany)

      Procida Film Festival (Procida, Italy)

       

      Brain Bug (2009)

      Rome Independent Film Festival (Rome, Italy)

      UTB Hollywood's Picture Battle (Cable TV, CA)

      Queens International Film Festival (Queens, NY)

       

      Balis (2007)

      WorldFest Houston (Houston, TX) *Remy Award Winner

      FEST New Directors New Films Festival (Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal)

       

      Life (2005)

      Toho Cinemas Student Film Festival (Osaka, Japan)

      Con-Can Movie Festival (Internet, Japan)

      First Run Film Festival (New York, NY)

       

      <Gallery Screenings: As Director>

      HPGRP Gallery (New York, NY)

      Cave Gallery (Brooklyn, NY)

      Hun Gallery (New York, NY)

       

      <Film Festival: As Producer>

      Out of My Hand (2015)

      Berlin International Film Festival/Panorama (Berlin, Germany)

      LA Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) * Grand Jury Awards Winner

      Independent Spirit Awards /John Cassavetes Award

      Montreal World Film Festival (Montreal, Canada)

      Raindance Film Festival (London, UK)

      Japan Cuts (New York, NY)

      Stockholm Film Festival / Spotlight Section (Stockholm, Norway)

      New Orleans Film Festival (New Orleans, LA)

      +more

       

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