Journey to the Oscars
  • Sat, 20 September, 13:00 - 14:00  |  Day 1
  • Doc Square
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The emergence of Asian documentary creators in the global documentary scene has become increasingly prominent. At Doc Square, we present a session featuring two Asian documentary directors whose works have previously entered the Academy Awards race. Joining them is an Asian documentary producer active in the Academy’s Documentary Branch, who will share current information and insights on the Oscar race and accompany them on this journey.
Moderator
JO Sona (Founder/Producer, Sona Films)

Jo Sona is a documentary producer whose work focuses on war, ideology, trauma, and women. She began her career as a production manager on a Korea–Belgium co-production and has since produced a wide range of documentaries in collaboration with directors across Korea and Asia. Her recent credits include Free Chol Soo Lee (2024), which won the 2024 Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Documentary, and earned her the MPA Producer Award at the 2024 Wildflower Film Awards.

Panelist
Ema Ryan YAMAZAKI (Documentary Filmmaker, Cineric Creative)

Ema Ryan Yamazaki is a Japanese/British documentary filmmaker based in Tokyo, with roots in New York. With a unique perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan, Ema strives to tell stories that empathetically show human struggle and triumph.
Ema is the Director of Instruments of a Beating Heart (2024) and Editor of Black Box Diaries (2024), which were both nominated for the Academy Awards in 2025. She has directed three acclaimed feature documentaries; The Making of a Japanese (2023), Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams (2019), and Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators (2017).

YI Seungjun (Director, Bluebird Pictures)

Yi Seungjun is a multi-award winning director, directing numerous TV documentaries and documentary films since 1999. He is the first-ever Korean documentary director nominated for an Oscar in 2020 for his short documentary In the Absence (2018). Planet of Snail (2011) was the first Asian documentary that won Best Feature-length documentary at IDFA in 2011. Wind on the Moon (2014) and Shadow Flowers (2019) were also selected for the Feature-length competition at IDFA. His filmography also includes Crossing Beyond (2018), the Official Olympic Film for the 2018 Winter Olympics, The Red Herring (2022) which was theatrically released in South Korea, watched by about 330,000 audiences.

Peter YAM (Producer, 70 Plus Production Company Limited)

Hong Kong film producer, member of the AMPAS Documentary Branch. Dedicated to producing multicultural projects, collaborating with international partners to provide high-quality films. Lost Course (2020) won the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary (2020); Blue Island (2022) won the Best International Documentary Feature at Canada's Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival; The Sunny Side of the Street (2022) won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Director, Best Actor and Best Original script; Another Home (2024) won the BIFF Mecenat Award in Busan International Film Festival.