Award-Winning Short Film “Stand In” Shot at Upperland Studio Wins 5 Awards at MAMM19

We are proud to present “Stand In,” a compelling drama-comedy short film written and directed by Hiromu Yamawaki and filmed at Upperland Studio in Richmond, BC. The production harnessed our professional studio stage and LED wall virtual production technology to bring a vivid Tokyo atmosphere to life — without ever leaving British Columbia. The results have resonated with audiences and juries across North America, earning the film five awards at its world premiere and an impressive run across the international festival circuit.

About the Film

“Stand In” is a bilingual drama-comedy short film produced in Canada in 2024. Running 10 minutes and 42 seconds, the film is shot in full colour, 16:9 widescreen, with a stereo mix in both English and Japanese. It was filmed on the studio stage at Upperland Studio, located in Richmond, BC, and carries an IMDb listing (tt34076541) recognising its place in the contemporary independent short film landscape.

Synopsis

Kenji is a young Japanese actor who, like so many emerging talents in the industry, has been forced to juggle his creative ambitions with the practical reality of paying rent. He drives for a ride-share platform between auditions, turning every shift into another opportunity to rehearse, reflect, and hope. Despite his dedication and undeniable skill, Kenji keeps running into the same wall: no matter how many projects he auditions for — feature films, television series, commercials — he always ends up as the stand-in for Chris, a charming and well-connected Asian actor who seems to inhabit every role that should have been Kenji’s.

Then, at last, a breakthrough seems within reach. Kenji learns he has made the shortlist for the lead role in a high-profile action feature called “Raging Fist.” It is the kind of opportunity that could change everything — the moment he has been grinding toward for years. He allows himself to believe, maybe for the first time, that this role is actually his.

A few nights later, Kenji accepts a ride request and discovers that his passenger is none other than Chris — who shows no sign of recognising him at all. The two engage in uneasy small talk as Kenji navigates the nighttime streets. Then Chris’s phone rings. The call is brief. The news is devastating: Chris has landed the lead in “Raging Fist.” The role that was supposed to be Kenji’s.

Blinded by rage and envy, Kenji reacts impulsively, making a choice he cannot take back. But just as he begins to reckon with what he has done, his own phone rings — and the voice on the other end delivers a revelation that leaves him in a state of even deeper shock. “Stand In” is a tightly crafted story about ambition, identity, and the invisible hierarchies that shape whose stories get told in the film industry.

Film Specifications

• Title: Stand In
• Genre: Drama, Comedy
• Year: 2024
• Runtime: 10 minutes 42 seconds
• Languages: English & Japanese
• Format: Colour — 16:9 — Stereo
• Country: Canada
• Filmed at: Upperland Studio, Richmond, BC
• IMDb: tt34076541

Award-Winning Achievement

“Stand In” had its world premiere as part of the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM19), the annual short filmmaking competition hosted by the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF). Selected as one of eight finalists in the 10-Minute Shorts category, the film was completed entirely within a gruelling 10-day production challenge — from concept to final delivery. At the MAMM19 Gala, the film swept the competition, claiming five out of seven available awards and establishing itself as one of the most decorated films in the competition’s history. You can read more about the film on its official VAFF programme page.

MAMM19 Awards

• Best Director — 10-Minute Short (Hiromu Yamawaki)
• Best Film — 10-Minute Short
• Best Screenplay — 10-Minute Short (Hiromu Yamawaki)
• Best Short — People’s Choice Award
• Best Performance for Short — People’s Choice Award (Ryo Mishima)

Official Festival Selections

Following its MAMM19 sweep, “Stand In” was invited to screen at festivals across North America, including two Academy Award qualifying festivals:

• 28th Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) 2024 — World Premiere, MAMM19 Official Selection
• Calgary International Film Festival 2025 — Academy Award Qualifying
• Edmonton International Film Festival 2025 — Academy Award Qualifying
• Seattle Asian American Film Festival 2025
• Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2025
• DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon 2026
• Sundar Prize 2025 — Best BC Short Film Nominee

Additional Nominations

• Best Stunts — Vancouver Short Film Festival 2025
• Best VFX — Vancouver Short Film Festival 2025
• Best Script — Chilliwack Independent Film Festival
• Best Performance — Chilliwack Independent Film Festival

The Cast

“Stand In” brings together a diverse ensemble of Vancouver-based actors whose performances anchored the film’s emotional core and earned recognition across the festival circuit.

Ryo Mishima — Kenji

Ryo Mishima (@ryomishima1991) brings Kenji to life with a raw authenticity that drives the film’s emotional engine. Ryo began his acting career 12 years ago, training across three cities — New York, Tokyo, and Vancouver — before relocating permanently to Vancouver in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, to pursue his ambition of working in international film productions. Since arriving, he has built an extensive body of work spanning films, television series, theatre productions, voice-over work, and commercials. Ryo’s passion for independent cinema is evident in his nuanced portrayal of Kenji — a character whose quiet desperation and sudden fury feel entirely believable. His performance at the MAMM19 Gala earned him the Best Performance for Short — People’s Choice Award.

Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi — Chris

Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi (@gabriel__prevost) plays Chris with the effortless charisma that makes his character both likeable and infuriating. A Japanese-Canadian actor born in Tokyo, Japan, Gabriel launched his professional acting career at age 23 and has quickly established himself as a rising talent in the Vancouver film community. He has been featured in VOGUE Magazine and is the recipient of the Anthony Meindl BIPOC Scholarship. His current projects include a recurring guest star role in an upcoming Netflix series and a supporting role in the shark-thriller “Something in the Water” from StudioCanal UK. Gabriel is also developing an original writing project, “Nagoya Ranch,” currently in development. A former competitive athlete, he has trained in Katana sword fighting, bringing a physical intensity to his screen presence.

Manon Blanchet & Arvin Shah — Supporting Cast

Manon Blanchet and Arvin Shah round out the cast in supporting roles that add texture and momentum to the story. Both actors contribute to the film’s authentic portrayal of the Vancouver film industry ecosystem, grounding the narrative in a world the audience recognises as real.

Haruno Niiyama — Miki

Haruno Niiyama portrays Miki, adding warmth and emotional nuance to the film’s ensemble. Her performance contributes to the layered portrayal of relationships within the story.

The Creative Team

Hiromu Yamawaki — Director & Writer

Hiromu Yamawaki (@yamawaki.hiromu | yamawakihiromu.com | Stand In project page) is a Vancouver-based filmmaker originally from Tottori, Japan. His work is defined by a deep engagement with intercultural identity, quiet emotional depth, and the specific challenges of bilingual storytelling. His films — Okuribi, Counting Days, and Stand In — have collectively screened at over 20 international film festivals, including Academy Award qualifying festivals such as the Calgary International Film Festival and the Edmonton International Film Festival. Hiromu completed his Film Studies at Carleton University and his Film Production training at the Vancouver Film School. In 2025, he was selected as an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Directors’ Lab, a prestigious professional development programme for emerging Canadian directors. He is deeply committed to expanding Asian representation in cinema — not just as a theme, but as a structural shift in who gets to make stories and whose stories are considered worth telling.

Aries Ceta — Producer & 1st Assistant Director

Aries Ceta (@thisismearies) is a Vancouver-based producer and 1st Assistant Director whose background spans film production and business management. Her producing credits include Passiflora (Crazy8s 2023), Ah Boy Ya (MAMM18 2023), Stand In (MAMM19 2024), and the animated short I Absolutely Hate This Place (Voices With Impact 2025). As an AD and Production Manager, Aries has worked across more than ten productions, earning a reputation for her ability to maintain momentum under the high-pressure conditions of independent short film production. She currently serves as Producer for the ReelShorts platform.

Dylan MacGregor — Producer

Dylan MacGregor (@dylan.macgregor | dylanmacgregor.com) is a Canadian director and producer who graduated from the Vancouver Film School with a focus on Film Production, Advanced Directing, and Cinematography (Class FP198). Between 2022 and 2025, Dylan worked as a camera technician and production service assistant with Inspired Image Picture Company in Vancouver, contributing to productions for Disney, Apple, Peacock, and TSN. He brings rigorous technical knowledge and a strong industry network to his independent producing work, and is actively building a portfolio of original short and feature film projects.

Shiun Okada — Director of Photography & Executive Producer

Shiun Okada (@budsaurus) served as both Director of Photography and Executive Producer on “Stand In,” contributing to the film’s distinctive visual language. The film’s cinematography — characterised by intimate close-ups, moody night photography, and the striking integration of the LED wall’s Tokyo skyline — is a direct result of Shiun’s work behind the camera.

Tristan C. Pina — Editor

Tristan C. Pina (@tristan_c_pina) served as editor on “Stand In,” crafting the film’s pacing and emotional rhythm. His editing work transforms raw footage into a tightly structured narrative that keeps audiences engaged from the first frame to the final twist.

Wilfred Moeschter — Original Score

Wilfred Moeschter (@wilfredmoeschter) composed the original score for “Stand In,” creating a musical landscape that underscores the film’s emotional tensions. His compositions blend atmospheric textures with dramatic cues, enhancing the audience’s connection to Kenji’s journey.

LED Wall Virtual Production at Upperland Studio

One of the most technically ambitious elements of “Stand In” was the use of LED wall virtual production at Upperland Studio to recreate the Tokyo city skyline — including the iconic Tokyo Tower — as a full, photorealistic backdrop for the film’s key scenes.

The car interior scenes that appear throughout the film were not shot on actual roads. Instead, the production built a car set on the studio stage at Upperland Studio and surrounded it with large-format LED wall panels displaying high-resolution footage and imagery of the Tokyo nightscape. This approach — a cornerstone of modern virtual production — allowed the cinematographer, director, and actors to work in a fully controlled environment while achieving the visual result of a night drive through a luminous, rain-slicked Tokyo cityscape, complete with the glow of neon signs and the silhouette of Tokyo Tower rising in the distance.

The advantages of this approach over traditional location shooting or green screen compositing are substantial. Because the LED wall emits real light, the illumination falling on the actors and the car interior is physically accurate — the colour temperature, intensity, and directionality of the city lights are captured in-camera rather than added in post-production. This produces a level of realism and immersion that green screen techniques struggle to match, and it allows the director and DP to make lighting decisions in real time on set, responding to what they see in the monitor rather than imagining what a composited background might look like months later in editorial.

For a 10-day production operating under MAMM competition constraints, the ability to film complex environmental scenes entirely within the studio was not merely a creative choice — it was a logistical necessity. Upperland Studio’s LED wall rental facility in Richmond, BC provided the team with a production-ready virtual environment that would otherwise have required either an international location shoot in Japan or extensive and expensive post-production compositing work. Instead, the Tokyo skyline was present on set, visible in the eyes of the actors, reflected in the windows, and captured directly by Shiun Okada’s camera.

The BTS photo below was taken during the filming of one of these LED wall sequences, showing the production crew, dolly track, and camera setup against the Tokyo skyline displayed on the LED panels — with Tokyo Tower visible in the background. It is a vivid illustration of how contemporary virtual production technology, available right here in Richmond, BC, is enabling Canadian independent filmmakers to tell genuinely global stories.

Official Poster

Production Partners & Sponsors

“Stand In” was made possible through the generous support and collaboration of the following production partners and sponsors:

• Inspired Image Picture Company — Camera and grip equipment
• Keslow Camera — Camera rental support
• Cinelease — Lighting and grip rental
• Nexus Entertainment Studios — Production support
• Vancouver Film Studios — Industry partner
• Coffee Run TV — Distribution and community partner
• Konbiniya Japan Centre — Production support and craft services
• Noodlebox — Catering sponsor

The production team is grateful to VAFF and the MAMM programme for providing the framework and community that made this film possible, and to the 40+ crew members who brought their expertise and energy to a 10-day sprint that resulted in an award-winning film.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Tokyo nightscape suitable for LED virtual production?

Tokyo’s nightscape is ideal for LED virtual production because its dense urban environment — characterised by layered neon signage, glass reflections, moving traffic lights, and the towering silhouette of Tokyo Tower — creates a visually rich, high-contrast backdrop that translates exceptionally well to LED wall displays. The interplay of warm and cool artificial lighting naturally produces the kind of colour separation and depth cues that make in-camera virtual production feel photorealistic. For a night driving scene like those in “Stand In,” the Tokyo cityscape provides continuous visual motion and luminous detail that wraps convincingly around a practical car set, eliminating the need for post-production compositing while delivering authentic ambient lighting on the actors and vehicle interior.

What is the value of combining virtual and practical locations at the same studio?

The ability to combine LED wall virtual backgrounds with physical interior and exterior practical locations at the same facility — as “Stand In” did at Upperland Studio — offers significant production advantages. The team filmed both the virtual Tokyo driving scenes on the LED wall stage and practical interior and exterior shots using the studio’s built environments, all without transporting cast, crew, or equipment between locations. This consolidated approach reduces setup time, minimises transport logistics, and allows the director to maintain creative continuity across scenes that shift between virtual and practical environments. For independent productions operating under tight timelines like the 10-day MAMM competition, this integration of virtual and practical shooting at a single location can be the difference between completing the film and running out of time.

Contact

For press inquiries, screening requests, or interview opportunities related to “Stand In,” please contact the filmmakers directly:

• Hiromu Yamawaki (Director/Writer) — yamawaki.hiromu@gmail.com | yamawakihiromu.com
• Aries Ceta (Producer/1st AD) — aries.ceta@gmail.com
• Dylan MacGregor (Producer) — info@dylanmacgregor.com | dylanmacgregor.com

Are you a filmmaker, producer, or creative team looking to bring your next project to life with the power of virtual production? Upperland Studio’s LED wall rental facility in Richmond, BC is available for independent productions of all scales. Our stage provides everything you need to film immersive, cinematic environments — from Tokyo skylines to any backdrop your story demands — without leaving Metro Vancouver. Get in touch with our team to discuss your production requirements and how virtual production at Upperland Studio can help you realise your creative vision.