Ian Thomas Ash

Ian Thomas Ash

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Thomas Ash received his MA in Film and Television Production from the University of Bristol. His first feature-length documentary, THE BALLAD OF VICKI AND JAKE (2006), was internationally acclaimed. Himself a US citizen, he has been living in Japan since 2004. His films have focused on issues surrounding the healthcare system, death, and illness.

Most Known for...

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Boys for Sale 2017

Through animation and a series of interviews with nine young men in Tokyo's gay district, this documentary exposes and humanizes the rarely seen world of gay sex work in Japan.
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Sending Off 2019

SENDING OFF follows the patients of Dr. Kaoru KONTA and her team of nurses as they provide hospice care to patients in their homes in rural Japan. A special focus is directed at the deepening relationships the patients form with their families as they reach the end of their lives. Sometimes difficult to watch, the film challenges us to think about how we live our own lives and how we would like to die.
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Ushiku 2021

The Ushiku immigration center near Tokyo mainly holds people seeking refuge in Japan. Using a hidden camera, award-winning filmmaker Thomas Ash interviewed inmates there from late 2019. His film publicly accuses Japan’s uncompromising refugee policy through one of the country's biggest human rights scandals. Ushiku has been making international headlines for years.