Writer-director Atsushi Ogata, critically acclaimed world-wide for his cross-cultural comedies, helms this romcom expanding mishaps from his own life stories from Japan, USA, Europe, with countless air-travels in-between. Quirky, heartfelt, family-friendly, full of physical humor and dance. Streaming world-wide on Twisted Mirror TV,
LOST & FOUND COWBOY is the second spin-off series from the original international award-winning sketch comedy YUKATA COWBOY ® series.
LOST & FOUND COWBOY
In Season 1, (4) 10 minute episodes tell the story of Yukata Cowboy, a guileless Japanese-American street performer, meeting Cindy, an American dancer in Tokyo. He guides her through Japan’s cultural maze as she inspires him to learn to dance. They begin to perform together and become romantically involved, but one day, Cindy suddenly disappears…
In Season 2, filmed in Tokyo, London and Madrid in the spring of 2020 under literal COVID lockdown, Yukata Cowboy finds himself under lockdown in Tokyo, alone and heartbroken. Depressed, he struggles with isolation. Two friends from overseas - a budding Danish comedian Lotte in London and Maribel, a flamenco dancer in Madrid – reach out online and bring him back to life.
‘(More Seasons to follow)
The character of Yukata Cowboy is an ongoing brand over three series to date: "Yukata Cowboy" (30 episodes), "Mona Lisa Cowboy"(7 episodes) and now "Lost & Found Cowboy," currently in production. “Yukata Cowboy” was awarded 13 prizes in Europe, North America and Korea and ranked #12 in Web Series World Cup 2015.
The first 4 episodes of LOST & FOUND COWBOY are streaming online world-wide (except for Asia) on Twisted Mirror TV
The 4 epiosdes of LOST & FOUND COWBOY Season 1 are streaming online world-wide on TWISTED MIRROR TV, the new free subscription-based web platform for English-language short-form comedy. Check out our episodes HERE.
Atsushi Ogata
(W
riter-Director-Lead Actor)
Born in Japan and raised partly in the U.S., Ogata has worked in the U.S., Holland, Germany and Japan as a screenwriter, film director, web series creator, video artist and an actor. Graduate of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ogata’s film/videos have been presented at museums world-wide including the prestigious New Directors/New Films at the MoMA and Lincoln Center in New York. His screenplays received funding in Germany and Holland, and he appeared weekly as a comedian on Dutch TV.
Ogata’s comedy feature “Cast Me If You Can” was released theatrically nationwide in 16 cities and screened in international airlines and on Japanese television. A novel version was published by Takeshobo publishing and digital version was distributed in North America via Amazon and iTunes.
Ogata expanded into digital/web series with “Trick or Treat: I LOVE America!”, “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and “Mona Lisa Cowboy.”
Kellie Holway
(Lead Actress/Choreographer)
Kellie Holway is an actress, born and raised in Massachusetts, USA. From the age of three, Kellie studied tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance, and in high school, made her professional debut dancing with the Worcester Ballet and Salisbury Lyric Opera Company. Kellie pursued a degree in Theatre Arts at Flagler College, attended NYU’s CAP 21 Musical Theatre Program, studied dance at Alvin Ailey, and was a scholarship student at Weist-Barron-Hill School for TV and film. She has performed at Walt Disney World in Florida, and at Tokyo Disneyland. She has performed in the First National Broadway Tour of “42nd Street”.
Kellie has worked as an actress and narrator in New York, Portland, Singapore, and currently, in Tokyo. In Portland, she has worked with physical comedy at the Imago Theater. In Japan, Kellie appeared regularly on NHK’s English programs and has acted in various films, TV programs, and commercials for NEC, Hitachi, NTT and other companies.
Risa Yamauchi (Supporting Actress)
Born in Hyogo, Japan, Risa Yamauchi has appeared in numerous dramas such as “Honmamon” and “Teruterukazoku” (NHK) from the age of eight. While pursuing her degree at Aoyama Gakuin University, she studied with the "Bungakuza” theater company. Over her career she has appeared on television and in films including “Aibou” (TV Asahi) and “Cast Me If You Can” (feature). Her stage works include “Modern Noh Plays by Yukio Mishima”, “The Cherry Orchard”, “The Great Gatsby in Tokyo”, “And Then There Were None” and “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” She is registered with the talent agency “Kabushikigaisya Shigoto.”
Motomu Ishigaki
(Director of Photography)
Motomu Ishigaki is a cinematographer based in New York City and Tokyo.
He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. At an early age, he encountered Robert Capa’s photography, which sparked his interest in visual arts. His passion toward visual storytelling led him to New York City in 2003. After earning a B.A. in Film Production from Brooklyn College, he has worked on several critically acclaimed feature films including “Himizu”, “The Land of Hope” and “Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA”, which were official selections at Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival.
A short film, “Memoir”, for which he served as director and co-cinematographer, was officially selected at the Miami Fashion Film Festival and La Jolla Fashion Film Festival and nominated for International Fashion Film award. He was Director of Photography for feature film, “Neko to Jichan”, which was theatrically released nationwide in Japan in early 2019. He currently works at UrbanMouse, LLC.
Sian Evans has made documentaries for herself and other filmmakers since 1984. She has written and produced on films about science, history and the experiences of our world for broadcast documentary series “Sunrise Earth”/Discovery and PBS’s “Anyplace Wild.” Sian produced for Barbara Kopple/Cabin Creek Films, including “Bearing Witness”/A&E, about the personal and professional lives of women war journalists reporting in Iraq. She happily produces and writes for other filmmakers and advised on development through outreach of the “Yukata Cowboy” ™. www.farthestfilms.com
masatakaodaka.com is the public face of Masataka Odaka, a composer and non-traditional, creative storyteller.
Taka, as he is called amongst friends, composes music and creates sound designs for commercial & narrative works of film as well as for live theater. He performs on bass (upright/electric), piano and guitar. He is available for hire anywhere in the world, but has worked extensively in New York, Tokyo, and Portland (Oregon). Taka created the sound design/mix for Atsushi Ogata’s “Mona Lisa Cowboy.” www.masatakaodaka.com
Ben Hillman is an award-winning filmmaker, author and illustrator. In addition to commercial work (PBS, Goldman Sachs, Spike Lee’s “She Hate Me"), he creates independent films including the musical shorts “Nietzsche Pops” and "Little Red Jiving Hood", which have won festival awards in the US, Europe and Asia.
Ben has written and illustrated picture books: “The Devil Ate My Blintzes” (Waterfront Press) and “That Pesky Toaster!” (The Walt Disney Company). Ben conceived and produced four pictorial science books for children published by Scholastic: “How Big Is It?”, “How Strong Is It?”, “How Fast Is It?” and “How Weird Is It?.” Publisher’s Weekly calls them “so freakin’ cool.” Ben created titles and animation for “Yukata Cowboy” ™, “Mona Lisa Cowboy”, and the logo of the Little Cowboy. www.benhillman.com
Composer, performer and editor based in the Netherlands, Pascal scores music for films, and has performed and broadcast his music across Europe and beyond. The range of avant-garde artists Pascal has recorded and performed with over the years include Gary Lucas, Guy Klucevsek, Haco, Hauschka and Martin Bisi. His long-standing relationship with German electronic music pioneer Pyrolator lends Pascal’s music its strong cinematographic touch. Pascal also composes for television shows and created the score for the award-winning Dutch feature film "170 Hz." He has collaborated with Japanese musician Shoukichi Kina, and has released original albums in Japan. His original songs were used in Atsushi’s online series “Trick or Treat: I LOVE America!”, “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and “Mona Lisa Cowboy.” http://pascalplantinga.com/
After studying under Takeo Kimura, Yohich Sakurai has worked as Art Director for dozens of feature films over 30 years including “Tokyo Girl”, “Tokyo Boy”, “Yomigaeri”, “Last Words”, and “Summer Nude”, as well as Line Producer for such films as “Hotaru no Haka” and “Tennshi no Piano”. He was the Art Director for Atsushi Ogata’s previous films, “Eternally Yours” and “Cast Me If You Can”.
Nana Kozakai has been the Key Hair & Make-up Artist for numerous award-winning feature films over 40 years including “Yume no mani mani”, “Hotaru no haka”, “Kamiya Etsuko no Seishun”, “Chichi to Kuraseba”, “Who’s Camus Anyway?”, “Suri” and “Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima”. A graduate of Yamano Beauty College, she was the Hair & Make-Up Artist for Atsushi Ogata’s previous film, “Eternally Yours” and “Cast Me If You Can”.
Graduate of Seikei University. Apprenticed under master film stylist Masae Miyamoto until 2009. Ayako Kuroha has worked in film, TV, advertisement and theater. Her film works include “HALFWAY”, “Bali Big Brother”, “50 First Kisses” and Atsushi Ogata’s “Cast Me If You Can”. Her TV works include “Blue Fire”, “Super Salaryman Mr. Saenai”, “Daruma-san Laughing” and “Sanuki Udon Financing Section”.
Working full-time as a colorist and online editor at a post production company in Tokyo, Miki has color-graded more than 400 works in 9 years. More recently, she has been working freelance for various producers and directors around Tokyo. Color-correcting and editing both film and television programs, she believes in finding a balance between strict time frames and healthy frame of mind. She has worked on Atsushi's award-winning short “Eternally Yours” and “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and also color-graded “Mona Lisa Cowboy.”
Takafumi Sakabe grew up watching Godzilla and Star Wars films. In 2013, he moved to the U.S. to study filmmaking in NY and LA. After graduation, he worked as a freelance director and cinematographer in the US. Since returning to Japan in 2016, he has directed and produced music videos, TV/web commercials and other productions. In 2017, he worked on the feature film "Unreliable" under veteran director Kazuyuki Izutsu. Takafumi has won awards at film festivals in Japan and abroad. Currently, he is completing his feature film "KAWASHI (tentative)". He is a fan of beef bowls.
LOST & FOUND COWBOY Season 2
The 4 epiosdes of LOST & FOUND COWBOY Season 2 are streaming online world-wide on TWISTED MIRROR TV, the new free subscription-based web platform for English-language short-form comedy. Check out our episodes HERE. (New season of LOST & FOUND COWBOY has been filmed ‘virtually’ over the internet under COVID ‘lockdown’ in London, Madrid and Tokyo with actresses Lærke Charlotte Olsvig and Xana del Mar.)
Atsushi Ogata (Writer-Director-Actor-Editor)
Born in Japan and raised partly in the U.S., Ogata has worked in the U.S., Holland, Germany and Japan as a screenwriter, film director, web series creator, video artist and an actor. Graduate of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ogata’s film/videos have been presented at museums world-wide including the prestigious New Directors/New Films at the MoMA and Lincoln Center in New York. His screenplays received funding in Germany and Holland, and he appeared weekly as a comedian on Dutch TV. Ogata’s comedy feature “Cast Me If You Can” was released theatrically nationwide in 16 cities and screened in international airlines and on Japanese television. A novel version was published by Takeshobo publishing and digital version was distributed in North America via Amazon and iTunes. Ogata expanded into digital/web series with “Trick or Treat: I LOVE America!”, “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and “Mona Lisa Cowboy.” www.atsushiogata.com
Laerke Charlotte Olsvig
(Actress/Camera/Sound Recording & Data Management)
Laerke Charlotte Olsvig is an actress and director. Laerke plays the character of Lotte in Lost Cowboy, season 2. She started her career as an actress at the local community theatre in Aalborg, Denmark where she is from and continued in Madrid, Spain where she attended a two-year course in physical theatre. Here she met Xana del Mar and together they created a Spanish comedy web-series ‘Piso’ that went on to win awards in Spain and Italy. She then moved to London where she wrote and directed a short film ‘Mrs Ashton’, which won for Best British short film and Best Lead actress at Southampton International Film Festival. She is currently working on another short film.
Xana del Mar
(Actress/Camera/Sound Recording & Data Management)
Xana del Mar was born in Barcelona and immediately moved to Asturias. There she attended theater classes from the age of 5. In 2011 she graduated in textual interpretation from the Higher School Dramatic Art (ESAD) of the Principality of Asturias. She continues her studies in Madrid at the Mar Navarro School of Gestural Theater. She has also received training from Vicente Fuentes, José Troncoso, Carles Alfaro, Laila Ripoll or Frenado Sánchez-Cabezudo. From 2015 to 2019 she is part of the training group of the Center for Studies and Creation of the Abadía Theater. She is one of the protagonists of the play "Por la Boca", written and directed by Jose Padilla (production by Ventricle Veloz). She is one of the creators and main character of “Piso” of WeeFee Productions, webseries awarded for the best Sitcom in the independent section of the Bilbao Web Fest 2016, Best Comedy at the Tuscany Web Fest 2017 (Italy) and they were awarded a special mention at the Girona Film Fest 2017. She has also participated with small roles in international films and Spanish TV series. In January 2020, she premiered "Siemprevivas" at the Pavón Kamikaze Theater, directed by Andrés Dwyer and written by María Nieto.
Sian Evans has made documentaries for herself and other filmmakers since 1984. She has written and produced on films about science, history and the experiences of our world for broadcast documentary series “Sunrise Earth”/Discovery and PBS’s “Anyplace Wild.” Sian produced for Barbara Kopple/Cabin Creek Films, including “Bearing Witness”/A&E, about the personal and professional lives of women war journalists reporting in Iraq. She happily produces and writes for other filmmakers and advised on development through outreach of the “Yukata Cowboy” ™. www.farthestfilms.com
Motomu Ishigaki is a cinematographer based in New York City and Tokyo. He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. At an early age, he encountered Robert Capa’s photography, which sparked his interest in visual arts. His passion toward visual storytelling led him to New York City in 2003. After earning a B.A. in Film Production from Brooklyn College, he has worked on several critically acclaimed feature films including “Himizu”, “The Land of Hope” and “Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA”, which were official selections at Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. A short film, “Memoir”, for which he served as director and co-cinematographer, was officially selected at the Miami Fashion Film Festival and La Jolla Fashion Film Festival and nominated for International Fashion Film award. He was Director of Photography for feature film, “Neko to Jichan”, which was theatrically released nationwide in Japan in early 2019. He currently works at UrbanMouse, LLC. http://www.motomu-ishigaki.com/
masatakaodaka.com is the public face of Masataka Odaka, a composer and non-traditional, creative storyteller.
Taka, as he is called amongst friends, composes music and creates sound designs for commercial & narrative works of film as well as for live theater. He performs on bass (upright/electric), piano and guitar. He is available for hire anywhere in the world, but has worked extensively in New York, Tokyo, and Portland (Oregon). Taka created the sound design/mix for Atsushi Ogata’s “Mona Lisa Cowboy.” www.masatakaodaka.com
Ben Hillman is an award-winning filmmaker, author and illustrator. In addition to commercial work (PBS, Goldman Sachs, Spike Lee’s “She Hate Me"), he creates independent films including the musical shorts “Nietzsche Pops” and "Little Red Jiving Hood", which have won festival awards in the US, Europe and Asia.
Ben has written and illustrated picture books: “The Devil Ate My Blintzes” (Waterfront Press) and “That Pesky Toaster!” (The Walt Disney Company). Ben conceived and produced four pictorial science books for children published by Scholastic: “How Big Is It?”, “How Strong Is It?”, “How Fast Is It?” and “How Weird Is It?.” Publisher’s Weekly calls them “so freakin’ cool.” Ben created titles and animation for “Yukata Cowboy” ™, “Mona Lisa Cowboy”, and the logo of the Little Cowboy. www.benhillman.com
Composer, performer and editor based in the Netherlands, Pascal scores music for films, and has performed and broadcast his music across Europe and beyond. The range of avant-garde artists Pascal has recorded and performed with over the years include Gary Lucas, Guy Klucevsek, Haco, Hauschka and Martin Bisi. His long-standing relationship with German electronic music pioneer Pyrolator lends Pascal’s music its strong cinematographic touch. Pascal also composes for television shows and created the score for the award-winning Dutch feature film "170 Hz." He has collaborated with Japanese musician Shoukichi Kina, and has released original albums in Japan. His original songs were used in Atsushi’s online series “Trick or Treat: I LOVE America!”, “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and “Mona Lisa Cowboy.” http://pascalplantinga.com/
Working full-time as a colorist and online editor at a post production company in Tokyo, Miki has color-graded more than 400 works in 9 years. More recently, she has been working freelance for various producers and directors around Tokyo. Color-correcting and editing both film and television programs, she believes in finding a balance between strict time frames and healthy frame of mind. She has worked on Atsushi's award-winning short “Eternally Yours” and “Yukata Cowboy” ™ and also color-graded “Mona Lisa Cowboy.”
