Arcanum Productions was established to develop and produce films of artistic and spiritual integrity, to be distributed over the World Wide Web.

As storytellers, it is our goal to re-establish the sacred connection between art, ritual, and mythology, by making films that give birth to new visions and understandings. To this end, we regard film as the medium, par excellence, in its ability to raise consciousness and provoke a response in the real world.

In the tradition of filmmakers that inspire us, it is our desire to craft films that elicit questions rather than provoke conclusions. These projects stray from conventional narratives and encourage surreal structures — stories in which time is experienced as symbolic, unspecified, and mystical. To achieve this end, our films utilize camera movement, composition, and characters to establish experimental and 'non-realistic' storytelling devices. ARCANUM produces films that are personal and collaborative testimonies; the authors' respective voices are ever-present in the work, incorporating fiction and biography into a single narrative.

By shooting our first feature AMERIKA: a notebook in three parts for under a million dollars, we present an alternative model for filmmakers whose visions do not fit the commercially-based approach to filmmaking.

Before the advent of digital alternatives, the cost of professional film stock, cameras, lighting and editing equipment was a major obstacle to making high quality films on low budgets. However, because high definition video cameras and editing tools are now compact and affordable, the costs of filmmaking have been minimized. Mass distribution is made possible via the Internet, and filmmakers oversee all aspects of production — from the creation of their vision to the dissemination of their completed films. The only limits remain the artists themselves and their imaginations, not their budgets.

"For me, filmmaking isn't just a profession, but a spiritual calling for those who believe that it can do far more than simply entertain. I actualized this calling while living in Japan and Europe, where I eventually completed two short films with limited resources. Soon thereafter I began writing the script for AMERIKA: a notebook in three parts, a feature film that glorifies, criticizes, and poeticizes the diverse legacies and perceptions about the United States, through the eyes of a Japanese traveler. While AMERIKA's script is partly based on people and situations that Kaori and I encountered while traveling abroad and around the U.S, it is simultaneously a product of dreams, synchronicities, and the imagination. This method confuses Art with Life, and allows a greater scheme of potential meanings to take shape, so that the 'everyday' transforms into the 'mythic.'

I intentionally cast inexperienced actors alongside professionals, because their instincts generate the spontaneous performances that are difficult to construct on the script page. As a director, I encourage actors to be different versions of themselves, so that their identities overlap with the motivations of the characters. The script operates as a point of departure, and I remain committed to making a film that successfully exceeds my original vision. Ultimately, I hope that viewers experience my films as they would their own dreams - fully immersed in their imaginations, but with eyes open."