Masami Yamagishi is an event producer that manages a design production company on one hand and produces events with creative charm on the other. While serving as the chairman of the planning committee for Sapporo International Short Film Festival which starts on October 5th, he also has Sapporo Design Week coming up on October 19th. At this event he will speak about the importance of “noticing” by sharpening the senses.
Born in Monbetsu City, Yamagishi’s family moved to Sapporo when he started attending Sapporo Keisei High School. Referring to helping build an unfinished school track along with fellow students during this time, Yamagishi says, “My love of building something from the ground up must have started around then.” He enjoyed drawing, so he took his teacher’s recommendation and started on his path to becoming a designer.
Following his graduation, Yamagishi started working at a design firm in Tokyo – it was there that he learned the basics of design. He moved to a major firm that designed ads for a department store, then moved to a Sapporo office when he was 28. Following the first design company that he founded with friends, he started the company he still heads, called Marketing Communication ERG, in 1988.
“ERG is a unit of measurement that stands for the amount of work and energy needed to move an object one centimeter. We value others and especially communicating with society,” says Yamagishi. This philosophy is not only the foundation for his company but for Yamagishi himself.
At Sapporo Short Fest, he introduced short films as a unique visual expression capable of leaving a lasting impression in a very short time, rather than their common impression as minor student films. He takes on these events because he would like people to “hear and see different things that make them realize different ways of living that may not be so focused on their material possessions.”
Sapporo Short Fest is gearing up for another great year with 78 short films from around the globe. Pre-sale tickets for Sapporo Short Fest are on sale in Play Guides all over Sapporo City. Chiseling at his sleep time but motivating himself knowing “the greatest reward is when I see attendees’ happy faces,” Yamagishi prepares for this year’s opening.
Written by Yuko Sato
Photography: Harebare Shashin
Translation: David Neptune
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