Directing

Akira Ikeda

Born 1976-01-11

Acting credits

Behind the camera

The Canary's Lullaby poster
NR

In a small village devastated by a past storm, an elderly woman named Tae lives alone selling grilled dumplings. Her life follows a quiet, repetitive routine, as if time itself has come to a standstill. One night, Tae discovers a strange creature in the mountains and brings it home, naming it Haru. Haru eats only the dumplings Tae makes by hand. Awkward yet gentle, Haru’s presence gives Tae a renewed sense of purpose. However, the village cannot accept what it does not understand. Rumors of a monster called “UWAN” spread, and fear takes hold. Haru is branded a harbinger of disaster, while Tae is deemed mentally unstable and forcibly hospitalized. Caught between rigid institutions and superstition, Tae struggles to protect Haru. Finally, she stages a grand fake funeral, allowing Haru to escape the village’s fear. As another storm approaches, Tae realizes that love is not about possession, but about letting go.

The Canary's Lullaby

2026

The Blue Danube poster
7.5

The soldiers no longer know why they are at war, and when it even started. Daily and dutifully they march to the river and shoot at the opposite village from 9 to 5 – orders are orders after all. They’ve done so for decades. When private Tsuyuki is transferred to the marching band, people keep asking him what use music is in times of war.

The Blue Danube

2021

The Blue Danube poster
7.5

The soldiers no longer know why they are at war, and when it even started. Daily and dutifully they march to the river and shoot at the opposite village from 9 to 5 – orders are orders after all. They’ve done so for decades. When private Tsuyuki is transferred to the marching band, people keep asking him what use music is in times of war.

The Blue Danube

2021

The Monster and the Woman poster
NR

Short film in which a village is terrorized by a monster. The local police investigation seems to be getting nowhere. This idiosyncratic film examines social conventions, interaction and bureaucracy.

The Monster and the Woman

2018

The Monster and the Woman poster
NR

Short film in which a village is terrorized by a monster. The local police investigation seems to be getting nowhere. This idiosyncratic film examines social conventions, interaction and bureaucracy.

The Monster and the Woman

2018

Anatomy of a Paperclip poster
5.0

Kogure is a paperclip bender in a paperclip factory. A man without characteristics. A stoical loser. One day he finds a butterfly in his flat. She becomes his wife, but is even stranger than the bizarre minimal world he lives in. Crazy and funny Japanese neofolk.

Anatomy of a Paperclip

2013

Anatomy of a Paperclip poster
5.0

Kogure is a paperclip bender in a paperclip factory. A man without characteristics. A stoical loser. One day he finds a butterfly in his flat. She becomes his wife, but is even stranger than the bizarre minimal world he lives in. Crazy and funny Japanese neofolk.

Anatomy of a Paperclip

2013

Ambiguous Places poster
7.0

Konoko wakes up on the beach and goes looking for a barber to take out the bug stucking on her head. Doi, who will soon be a father, goes to make gloves for her wife as a gift, Kazuko wakes up at the theater, and goes home where she finds a blue monster. She goes to a shop to get rid of the monster.

Ambiguous Places

2017

Ambiguous Places poster
7.0

Konoko wakes up on the beach and goes looking for a barber to take out the bug stucking on her head. Doi, who will soon be a father, goes to make gloves for her wife as a gift, Kazuko wakes up at the theater, and goes home where she finds a blue monster. She goes to a shop to get rid of the monster.

Ambiguous Places

2017