Ashizawa Akiko, a veteran of more than 70 features and one of the most accomplished cinematographers in the history of Japanese cinema, delivered a wide-ranging masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival, tracing her career from an unlikely entry into the industry through features spanning horror, comedy, drama and historical epic. The session preceded her receipt of the Pierre Angénieux Tribute.
The event opened with Ashizawa describing an upbringing entirely removed from cinema – until, as a student at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, she encountered the films of Jean-Luc Godard. Early ambitions to direct dissolved when she saw the 8mm work of fellow student Morita Yoshimitsu. “He’s really talented and I can’t win over him, so I decided to find another way – that’s why I took the path for the cinematographer,” she said.
Breaking into the industry in the early 1970s required finding a side door. With no female camera assistants in the Japanese film industry, Ashizawa found her opening through cinematographer Ito Hideo – known for shooting Oshima Nagisa’s “In the Realm of the Senses” – who agreed to take her on as an assistant. The lesson Ito imparted proved foundational. “Whether it’s a big-budget job or a small job like just taking photos for a panel, there is no doubt that you should pour all your energy into it,” she said, noting she still passes that principle on to her own assistants.
