MORIMOTO, Risa

http://www.edgewoodpictures.com/

• second generation Japanese-American filmmaker
• studied at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan
• producer, director. editor
• co-founder of Edgewood Pictures with Paul Griffin
• has an MA in film production and education from New York University (1999), where she later served as the Associate Director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute
• made a name for herself with her film Wings of Defeat, a documentary on surviving Kamikaze pilots. The film has received international acclaim and aired on the PBS Emmy Award-winning program, Independent Lens in 2009.
• 2009: Wings of Defeat was awarded the Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians
• Wings of Defeat won the 2008 Above and Beyond Award for Best Documentary from the Women's Film Critics Circle She produced 2009: awarded a Japan Foundation research fellowship.
• 2002-6: was the Executive Director of Asian CineVision, a non-profit media arts organization in New York City
• lectures at universities, college and cultural institutions in the U.S. and Japan
• a member of JAJA (Japanese Americans, Japanese in America).
• co-founder of APAYA, Asian Pacific American Youth Alliance.

Secondary Sources:

• Ilustrisimo, Jinra. "Interview with Wings of Defeat Producer/ Director Risa Morimoto." Ningen. 2 Jan. 2009.
• MaGee, Chris. "INTERVIEW: Risa Morimoto discusses her documentary Wings of Defeat." Toronto JFilm Powwow. 6 March 2009.
• Wings of Defeat on the PBS Independent Lens website

Filmography:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605485/