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
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.
Editor/Shooter/Visual Works
Editor
Live Videographer
Visual Artist/ VJ
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
Contact
Don't be afraid to reach out.
Copyright 2015