The Yokohama Movie and Broadcasting College was established in 1975 in response to the call from film director Shohei Imamura for the young would-be filmmakers who 'don't want to tread the beaten path to join together.' In 1992 Shohei Imamura (currently the Chairman of the board of Directors) resigned as the Academy's president and again dedicated himself to film making. UNAGI (The eel) won Imamura his second Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award following his previous success for “The Ballad Of Narayama”. On Imamura's request, Tadao Satou, also a name on the international film scene, was inaugurated as president. Satou gives lectures on 'The History of Cinema' at the Academy, critiques the project work of the Film Department and actors' public performances, and every year introduces distinguished works to international film festivals.

International applicants must have completed 12 years of school education and must have speaking and writing abilities in Japanese because all courses of the JAMI are given in Japanese. Subjects include film directing, cinematography, sound recording and humanities. The school also has an Acting Department.