Japanese filmmaker, actress, producer and Festival Director.

Naomi KAWASE is a film director, screenwriter, producer, actress, producer and festival director.

She is known for her films "Dans ses bras" (1992), "Shara / 沙羅双樹" (2003, Director), "La Forêt de Mogari / 殯の森 / The Mourning Forest" (2007, Director), "Hanezu, l'esprit des montagnes / 朱花の月 / Hanezu no tsuki" (2011, Director), "Still the Water / 2つ目の窓 / Futatsume no mado" (2014, Director), "True Mothers / 朝が来る / Asa ga kuru" (2020, Director).

She is the Artistic Director of the #Supporting Young African Women Filmmakers residency! (Nara, Japan, March 28-April 12, 2020).

The prominent Japanese director and writer gained worldwide fame after achieving many honorable successes during her career that began in the late 1980s.

Born and raised in Nara, Japan, Naomi Kawase continues to make her films there today. Her pursuit to capture "reality" through film beyond simplistic documentary-fiction dichotomies has received worldwide acclaim.

She is the youngest person to win the Caméra d'Or (for best debut feature film) at the Cannes Film Festival for "Moe no Suzaku" (1997). She also won three awards from the prestigious French festival for her films "Mogari no Mori" (2007) and "Hikari" (2017) and she also received the Carrosse d'or from the Directors' Fortnight (2009)

After filming her two features "Vision" (2018) and "Asa ga Kuru" (2020), she was appointed the official Film Director of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and is a Thematic Producer for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo. She serves as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and was bestowed the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture.

Outside of film, she pursues other forms of expression including commercial directing, radio program DJing, essay writing, installation creation, and various other activities, including calligraphy.

Recently, she has become fascinated by Ryukyuan dance and has been working on conveying its unique expression of time and space through visual expressions and stage sets.

As executive director of the Nara International Film Festival, which she launched in 2010, she focuses on nurturing the next generation of visionaries and has produced nine films in this pursuit.

Japanese director Naomi Kawase presided over the International Competition Jury of the 44th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF, 13-22 Nov 2022).


Our Source / Nos Sources :
- www.ciff.org.eg/japanese-director-naomi-kawase-to-preside-over-international-competition-jury/
- https://japonismes.org/fr/officialprograms/河瀨直美監督特集-特別展・特集上映
- www.la-srf.fr/naomi-kawase