Ayako Ishizu is a film critic and journalist based in Japan. Born in Tokyo, she graduated with a BA in English from Dokkyo University and began her career in the film industry in 1989 as an advertising supervisor for TOHO-TOWA. In 1996, she moved to New York to complete the Certified Film Production Program at New York University. She has been a freelance journalist in Japan since 1999. She writes mainly about film and entertainment for Weekly Bunshun, Kinema Junpo, CREA web, ELLE Japan, Tokyo Shimbun (Newspaper) and CINE 21(Korea). She occasionally appears on television and radio programs. Since 2004, she has been covering international film festivals such as Cannes and Busan. She has been an international voter for the Golden Globes since 2023.