Shinobu Yaguchi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
film director
and screenwriter
. He specializes in feel-good "zero to hero" films, where a group of people take up an unlikely activity, face a number of obstacles, but finally succeed. His film Waterboys
was particularly successful and led to a TV series which entered its third season in 2005. He was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2005 Yokohama Film Festival
for his film Swing Girls
.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He specializes in feel-good "zero to hero" films, where a group of people take up an unlikely activity, face a number of obstacles, but finally succeed. His film Waterboys
Waterboys (film)
is a 2001 comedy film written and directed by the Japanese film director Shinobu Yaguchi, about five boys who start a synchronized swimming team at their high school...
was particularly successful and led to a TV series which entered its third season in 2005. He was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2005 Yokohama Film Festival
Yokohama Film Festival
The is a noticed yearly awards ceremony held in Japan. The festival was started as a small affair by fans and film critics, and first held on February 3, 1980. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year, and various awards are given to personnel...
for his film Swing Girls
Swing Girls
is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by the Japanese filmmaker Shinobu Yaguchi about the efforts of a group of high school girls to form a jazz band....
.
Director
- 2008 Happy FlightHappy Flightis a Japanese comedy film directed by Shinobu Yaguchi about pilots and flight attendants. All Nippon Airways backed the creation of the film. The airline sponsored a giveaway of Happy Flight DVDs and other items to certain members of ANA's mileage club....
Portrays the human personalities, insecurities and foibles of the crew of a 747 flight as they confront both difficult passengers and mechanical problems.
- 2004 Swing GirlsSwing Girlsis a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by the Japanese filmmaker Shinobu Yaguchi about the efforts of a group of high school girls to form a jazz band....
This comedy follows the unlikely (but fact-based) story of a group of girls who decide to form, of all things, a traditional jazz band. The cast is largely cast with actual members of the band performing their own numbers, mostly while wearing their high school sailor suit uniforms.
- 2002 Parco Fiction
- 2001 WaterboysWaterboys (film)is a 2001 comedy film written and directed by the Japanese film director Shinobu Yaguchi, about five boys who start a synchronized swimming team at their high school...
The high concept, high school comedy is, like his later "Swing Girls," based in fact. This film relates the travails of a group of teenage boys who seek fame in, of all ventures, the world of synchronized swimming. This was later made into a popular eleven-part drama shown on Japanese TV.
- 1999 One Piece! A series of short films made in conjunction with Takuji Suzuki. The rules: the directors must create a short film without the use of any camera movement or editing - a story told in "one piece" of celluloid. This experiment enjoyed great success on the film festival circuit, and is now only available on an extended Japanese-only DVD. Not to be confused with the anime seriesOne Pieceis a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
.
- 1999 Adorenarin doraibu aka Adrenaline Drive. This widely-distributed low-budget romance tells the story of young driver's unfortunate encounter with yakuza gone bad - and the strange, terrifying chase that results.
- 1997 Himitsu no hanazono aka My Secret Cache The hilarious comedy of a bank teller who hopes she'll somehow luck into a vast sum of cash - and does, only to have it slip from her fingers. The film evolves into a series of wild adventures as she tries to regain that lost wealth. Not to be confused with the drama series.
- 1996 Bird Watching This short film won acclaim in several international film festivals.
- 1993 Hadashi no pikunikku aka Down the Drain This black comedy is an inversion of his later "Himitsu no hanazono" - a madcap series of misadvantures that chases our heroine through a less-than-friendly depiction of modern Japan.