Personal Statement
First to introduce myself, my name is Owen Dara, and I am a highly successful filmmaker within the U.S. film industry. I am well-known for writing, directing, and starred in the films The Holy Fail, and Choosing Signs, which have received several awards, including the prestigious Action on Film International Film Festival Award. I have also starred in the film Sleeping with the Dead, which also received the Action on Film Award from Action on Film International Film Festival. As an experienced filmmaker who has worked on several critically acclaimed films, there is nothing more crucial than having an experienced crew by your side during production. Yoshi proved to be one of the most talented director of photography I have ever worked with. Due to my professional experience and my history with Yoshi, I am the foremost authority in regards to highlighting his leading contributions and his ever-growing list of professional achievements.
I worked with Yoshi on the film The Holy Fail, on which he performed a leading role as the director of photography (or also known as the cinematographer). This comedy film is about four friends who rob a safe in an attempt to save a marriage, but they get caught by a force even greater than the law. As the leading director of photographer, Yoshi was in charge of the entire camera department, and using his visual aesthetics to create a look for the film that would perfectly capture the tones of the story I wanted to tell. It was his leading contributions, which created the visual look that audiences saw on screen upon its release. He was responsible for carefully assessing all locations and developed a list of equipment needs for the entire production, so he could achieve all the shots that he wanted on location. He also led the camera crew, making sure pieces of equipment were all working, and testing special lenses and filters. During the shooting process, Yoshi used his experience and expertise to manipulate the camera, angle, and lighting and ensured that the scenes are shot creatively. Yoshi is also a natural leader, as he led a team of photographers during a video. He also coordinated with the makeup and costume department and ensured the casts looked appropriate. His role in this film cannot be understated and without him we would not have passed the production stage.
The film, The Holy Fail, received massive critical acclaim upon its release as a result of Yoshi’s lead role in its production. The film was screened at several festivals, including the prestigious Action on Film Festival, where it won two awards; Austin Revolution Film Festival, Covellite International Film Festival; Laughlin International Film Festival and Worldwide Women’s Film Festival. The film has also been made available to millions of Amazon’s Prime Video subscribers. Once again, Yoshi’s leading role was crucial to the film’s completion and acclaim that the film received upon release. Without Yoshi’s contributions, there would be no film to speak of, and, thus, he played a vital role in the critical acclaim that the production received.
I would also like to attest to Yoshi’s previous well-known achievements that make him an outstanding and extremely in-demand director of photography within both the United States’ and Japanese entertainment industries. He has a long list of achievements spanning the globe, including his work on a commercial campaign titled Tropical Fish for the renowned video game company Enix Corporation. His work on this campaign earned the advertisement multiple awards such as the internationally celebrated London International Advertising Awards, the widely popular Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, and the highly sought-after Advertising Dentsu Prize. He has worked on the internationally distributed advertising campaign entitled Dreaming for the widely acclaimed company Toyota, one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. He has also been involved in the production of commercial campaigns for such internationally dominant and highly celebrated corporations as Intel, Coca-Cola, All Nippon Airways, Fuji Xerox, Sapporo Beer, Nissin, Fujitsu, Japan Telecom, and KDDI.
Yoshi is an example of a successful director of photography whose reputation precedes him. He has shown the world his extraordinary skills and continues to be a sought-after director of photography for many brands and productions. I am sure other companies here in the United States share my sentiments and for this reason, I would appreciate it if you consider him in his request for a visa renewal.