He then went on to write and direct, along with Minha Kim, the searing docudrama Last Message in 2011. After holding several screenings of the film to raise money for the victims of the Tohoku tsunami, it was accepted and showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. Two years later, he wrote and directed the drama Kyodai, starring Yumiko Katayama and co-produced by Yuko Tanaka. This too was accepted and showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, making Zak Baney the only foreign director in Japan to have two separate films featured there. In 2016, his video for recording artist Costie Payne's song, "Grace And Love", won the top prize of best music video of the year at the LRT Music Video Awards.