Private Project

Path of Dreams

PATH OF DREAMS re-imagines the legend of Japanese poetess Ono no Komachi, who challenges the pompous Shosho to write poetry with her for 99 nights. Vowing to take him as her lover on the 99th night, our mystical beauty reveals the passion behind Komachi’s most seductive and heartbreaking poetry.

  • Tamara Ruppart
    Director
  • Velina Hasu Houston
    Writer
    Columbia Pictures, PBS, Sidney Poitier, and Lancit Media
  • Ko Mori
    Producer
    Man From Reno, Uzumasa Limelight, Lords of Chaos, Downrange
  • Airi Kido
    Key Cast
    Snowchild, Otome no reshipi
  • TJ Kayama
    Key Cast
    Blue Ride, Blue Gardens, The 8th Samurai
  • Yoshihisa Toda
    Director of Photography
    Our Homeland, Life, Nobody Knows
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    夢 の 通 い 路
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Romance, History, Foreign
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Japan
  • Language:
    Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cinema on the Bayou

    United States
    January 27, 2018
    Director's Choice, WINNER
  • Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
  • Winter Film Awards International Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
  • California Women's Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Nominated for Best Director and Best Actor
Director Biography - Tamara Ruppart

Tamara Ruppart has worked as a director, producer and actor in theater. This is her first film. On stage, she has directed Komachi, A Thousand Cranes, The Fantasticks, Strike-Slip, Velina Hasu Houston’s Kokoro (True Heart), and the world premiere of Extinction.

Ms. Ruppart studied Digital Filmmaking at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles as well as Script Supervision and Continuity under Shari Carpenter in New York City. After receiving a scholarship, Ms. Ruppart attended The New School for Drama. Having studied directing with Elinor Renfield, Casey Biggs, Austin Pendleton and Olympia Dukakis, Ms. Ruppart graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Directing in 2009. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Davidson College in 2000.

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Director Statement

PATH OF DREAMS is the first step in my mission to share the stories of Velina Hasu Houston with the world. Dr. Houston is one of the great American playwrights of our time, and I passionately believe in the importance of using film to magnify her very important voice.

The legend of Ono no Komachi is one of beauty, feminine strength, social defiance, passion and love. Even though the story takes place in ancient Japan, the themes and emotions are relevant today, both in the United States and in Japan. Komachi’s inner fire, controversial passion and lack of conformity to the structural rules of ancient society demonstrate the strength and will inherent in women of all cultures and societies, both ancient and modern.