Ryoya Terao's Portfolio

 

Ryoya Terao holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design. He is an Associate Professor of Video Production in the Department of Entertainment Technology at New York City College of Technology. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, his work, which includes experimental films, narrative shorts, and documentaries, has been shown on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), PBS, YesNetwork, and other TV networks in the U.S.A. and abroad as well as at film festivals.

During recent years, Professor Terao has co-produced and/or directed dozens of documentaries focusing on human-interest subjects. Currently, Professor Terao has been directing a two-part documentary series on Jewish life in Lichtenfels, a small town in Germany. The first film, chronicles the discoveries of the 13 driver’s licenses in the county office of Lichtenfels in 2017. They had been confiscated from Jewish drivers in 1938. A group of local high school students and their teacher researched the fates of the Jewish license holders. They found out that five of them and their families had been murdered–eight escaped. Eventually locating some of the surviving Jewish descendants overseas and inviting them to their ancestors’ hometown, intriguing friendships developed. The film “13 Driver’s Licenses” has been screened at film festivals around the globe and has received multiple best documentary awards.

The second documentary is currently in production and will focus on Nazi crimes and the relationship between modern-day Jews and non-Jewish Germans. It addresses questions of guilt, restitution, and reconciliation.

For further info., please visit: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/13dl/

Other works by Ryoya Terao include “Sled-Dog Dreams” about a sled-dog team from an animal shelter in Durango, Colorado; “Go Achilles!” on disabled athletes from around the globe; “Gun Runners” on gun-violence through the eyes of former gang members in New York; and “Klavierhaus” on immigrant brothers who import and restore antique pianos. With respect to environmental concerns, he worked on a documentary about asbestos litigations and in the process, discovered a groundbreaking historic document that led to compensations for asbestos-related diseases in Japan. He also directed “Bamboo Bicycle,” a story on an innovative bike studio in Brooklyn operated by three young men, hand crafting bamboo bikes for eco-friendly New Yorkers and people in the developing world.

Professor Terao has interviewed renowned actors such as Robert DeNiro and Julie Andrews, artists, and sports personalities such as the legendary PR announcer for the Yankees, Bob Shepard, as well as political and governmental figures, including Romeo Dallaire, the Force commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (played by Nick Nolte in the film Hotel Rwanda.)