Steven Toll Okazaki (born March 12, 1952, in Venice, California) is an American filmmaker. He is Sansei Japanese American (3rd generation) and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has received a Peabody Award and been nominated for four Academy Awards, winning an Oscar for the documentary short subject, Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo (1990).
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 12, 1952 (74)
- Venice, California, USA
- Director, writer, editor and producer
- 4 on MovieCove · 18 credits in all
Known for
What are Steven Okazaki's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Society.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 1 · Serious 0 · Dark 2
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 0 · Intense 2
Steady 3 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Steven Okazaki's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Steven Okazaki's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
18 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.
Mifune: The Last Samurai(2015)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Heroin: Cape Cod, USA(2015)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all filmsGiap's Last Day At The Ironing Board Factory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Something Better to Come(2014)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Facing Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Conscience of Nhem En (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all filmsRehab (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Mushroom Club (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Harsh Canvas: The Art & Life of Henry Sugimoto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Alone Together: Young Adults Living With HIV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
American Sons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
POV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Hunting Tigers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Living on Tokyo Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Unfinished Business (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Career shape
A full career of 18 titles from 1985 to 2016.
Biggest box office
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)
Highest rated
White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007)
Most popular right now
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.
How do Steven Okazaki's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 80th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
Shape of the crowd
None of their 4 titles divides audiences: 2 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 35. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Steven Okazaki work with?
People who share at least 2 of Steven Okazaki's MovieCove titles; Taro Goto shares the most, 2.
- Taro GotoShared titles: Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015), White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Taro Goto