Kenta Ikeda
Writing
Biography
Kenta Ikeda grew up watching films thanks to his father, an avid fan of classical movies by such masters as John Ford, Hitchcock, Bergman, Ozu, and more. Despite initially pursuing a more typical career path in computer science from Osaka University, he instead chose to follow his passion for cinema and left for the United States to study filmmaking at Cal State Long Beach, further immersing himself in film through collaborations and shared ideas with newfound American peers. Upon graduating, he apprenticed under Shunji Iwai during the production and postproduction of Vampire (2011), and--following his return to Japan--began writing and directing his own short films including The Devil at 3 PM; picked up by international film festivals including Festival Silhouette 2017 (Paris), Sapporo Short International Film Festival 2018, United States Super 8 Film + Digital Video Festival 2018, among others. He also collaborates and writes scripts for fellow independent filmmakers and looks forward to the reception to his first feature film Strangers (2024).
Known For
A disillusioned office worker finds freedom and a new sense of self after assuming her missing colleague's identity on a dating app, only to find it comes at the cost of much more.
STRANGERS
A cold-hearted reaper, Makhaliss, meets a dying teenage girl who suffers from the guilt of leaving her mother behind.
Makhaliss
One summer day, temp worker Naoko takes the afternoon off to visit her mother. On the way, she learns her younger brother was in a traffic accident and urgently needs money. Arriving at a park, Naoko notices an envelope filled with cash lying next to a man resting on a bench...