Atsushi Sakahara [Film Director]

Born in Kyoto 1966. During his “ronin” days after high school, Atsushi couldn’t stop his friend’s suicide.He decided to pursue three promises with the friend: studying at Kyoto Univesity, studying at an MBA program in the U.S., and winning an Oscar. He spent four extra years to get in Kyoto University. After graduation, he joined Dentsu Inc. an ad agency in Tokyo. He became a victim of the Tokyo sarin gas attack. He left Japan and earned an MBA at University of California at Berkeley. While working for a high tech start-up in Silicon Valley, “Bean Cake’‘, a short film he produced during the summer break won Palme d’Or at Cannes. He managed to make “Me and the Cult Leader ‘’(AGANAI) struggling with his severe post effects. In 2020 the film is short listed for IDA award, pre-competition for the feature documentary Oscar.