From painting to rock music to spices, Keiko Araki has finally found her destiny in movies after a long meandering journey.
Keiko is the director of PIA Film Festival (PFF), founded in 1977 by a group of young film enthusiasts to nurture new talent among young film makers.
The PFF is held very year in December at the Hibiya Chanter Theatre, one of the most established art theatres in Japan. The Film Festival consists of two major parts, the PFF Award Competition, and the Special Invitation Showcase.
This year there are 690 movies in the competition, mainly produced by young directors in their early twenties.
'My job is to find talented film makers and then to take care of them,' Araki said.
After university and travelling she worked at a large spices company in Japan before joining PFF in 1990. She edited the company's publications and was responsible for advertising-related duties.
'I studied fine arts, specialising in painting,' she said. 'After graduating in 1982, I flew to England and stayed in different places for a year. I became addicted to rock music. I'd been to so many of those concerts in that period of my life.
