Ryūsuke Hamaguchi

• Japanese director, born in 1978.

  Ryūsuke Hamaguchi worked as assistant director before he joined the Tokyo University of the Arts, where one of his professors was Kiyoshi Kurosawa. His graduation film, Passion (2008), gets him immediate acclaim in Japan. He then co-directs a documentary trilogy in which he interviewed witnesses of the 2011 tsunami. He returns to feature film with Happy Hour, released in 2015. This movie, which was the fruit of an artistic residency with non-professional actors, granted him an international recognition that has continued to grow since then. His following movies received numerous awards, such as the 2022 Oscar for Best International Feature Film for Best for Drive My Car — adapted from a novel by Murakami — and the 2023 Grand Jury Prize in Venice for Evil Does Not Exist. Hamaguchi’s subtle exploration of human feelings tinged with melancholia established him as one of the most important Japanese directors of his time.

• Like Nothing Happened (2003) - Solaris (2007) - Passion (2008) - The Depths (2010) - Intimacies (2012) - Senses (2015) - Asako I & II (2018) - Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021) - Drive My Car (2021) - Evil Does Not Exist (2023)