# Steven Okazaki > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Steven_Okazaki > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Steven_Okazaki.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Okazaki > Source revision: 1322992858 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American documentary filmmaker (born 1952) Steven Okazaki Okazaki in 2017 Born (1952-03-12) March 12, 1952 (age 74) Venice, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Alma mater San Francisco State University Occupations Director Producer Writer Editor Cinematographer Years active 1976–present Spouse Peggy Orenstein ​ (m. 1991)​ Children Daisy Tomoko **Steven Okazaki** (born March 12, 1952) is an American [documentary](/source/Documentary_film) filmmaker known for his raw, [cinéma vérité](/source/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9)-style documentaries that frequently show ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. He has received a [Peabody Award](/source/Peabody_Award), a [Primetime Emmy](/source/Primetime_Emmy_Awards) and has been nominated for four [Academy Awards](/source/Academy_Awards), winning an Oscar for the [documentary](/source/Documentary_film) [short subject](/source/Short_film), *[Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo](/source/Days_of_Waiting%3A_The_Life_%26_Art_of_Estelle_Ishigo)*. ## Career Steven Okazaki started his career at [Churchill Films](/source/Churchill_Films) in 1976, making narrative and documentary shorts. In 1982, he produced *Survivors* for [WGBH Boston](/source/WGBH-TV), a documentary short about [Hiroshima](/source/Hiroshima) and [Nagasaki](/source/Nagasaki) [atomic bomb survivors](/source/Hibakusha). In 1985, he received his first Academy Award nomination for *[Unfinished Business](/source/Unfinished_Business_(1985_American_film))*, about three *[Nisei](/source/Nisei)* Japanese Americans who challenged the [Internment of Japanese Americans](/source/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) in court. In 1987, he wrote and directed the [independent film](/source/Independent_film), *[Living on Tokyo Time](/source/Living_on_Tokyo_Time)*, which premiered in competition at the [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival) and was theatrically released by [Skouras Pictures](/source/Skouras_Pictures). In 1991, he won the [Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Documentary_(Short_Subject)) for *[Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo](/source/Days_of_Waiting%3A_The_Life_%26_Art_of_Estelle_Ishigo)*, about [Estelle Peck Ishigo](/source/Estelle_Peck_Ishigo), a Caucasian artist who accompanied her Japanese American husband to a Japanese internment camp. Okazaki continued to make documentary films for [PBS](/source/PBS) and later with [HBO](/source/HBO). In 2006, he received his third Academy Award nomination for *[The Mushroom Club](/source/The_Mushroom_Club)*, a personal documentary about his journey to Japan to interview [atomic bomb survivors](/source/Hibakusha) on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. He received the 2008 "Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking" Primetime Emmy Award for *[White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki](/source/White_Light%2FBlack_Rain%3A_The_Destruction_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki)*, and his fourth [Oscar nomination in 2009](/source/81st_Academy_Awards), for the documentary short *[The Conscience of Nhem En](/source/The_Conscience_of_Nhem_En),* about three survivors of the [Tuol Sleng Prison](/source/Tuol_Sleng_Prison). His production company, Farallon Films, is based in [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley%2C_California). Okazaki was also involved as a multi-instrumentalist in a San Francisco [punk rock](/source/Punk_rock) music group called [The Maids](https://www.laweekly.com/back-to-bataan/) (1977–79), whose sole record, a single called '[Back to Bataan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIPs15FBvP4),' gained some notoriety by way of later punk music compilations.[1] ## Filmography Year Title Distributor 1976 A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N-S Farallon Films 1982 Survivors PBS 1983 The Only Language She Knows Farallon Films 1985 Unfinished Business PBS 1986 Living on Tokyo Time Skouras Pictures 1988 Hunting Tigers Farallon Films 1991 Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo PBS 1992 Troubled Paradise PBS 1993 The Lisa Theory Finnish TV 1994 American Sons PBS 1995 Alone Together: Young Adults Living With HIV NHK 1996 Life Was Good: The Claudia Peterson Story NHK 1999 Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End Of The Street HBO 2002 The Fair PBS 2005 Rehab HBO 2006 The Mushroom Club HBO, Cinemax 2007 White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki HBO 2009 The Conscience of Nhem En HBO 2010 Crushed: The Oxycontin Interview Farallon Films 2011 Approximately Nels Cline Farallon Films 2011 All We Could Carry Farallon Films 2014 Giap's Last Day At The Ironing Board Factory PBS 2015 Heroin: Cape Cod, USA HBO 2016 Mifune: The Last Samurai Strand Releasing ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Back to Bataan"](http://www.laweekly.com/2000-06-29/news/back-to-bataan/). *L.A. Weekly*. June 21, 2000. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170710043357/http://www.laweekly.com/news/back-to-bataan-2132165) from the original on July 10, 2017. ## External links - [Steven Okazaki](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645574/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Farallon Films Official website](http://farallonfilms.com) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND National United States France BnF data Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Steven Okazaki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Okazaki) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Okazaki?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.