AIR DOLL

He was born in Tokyo in 1962 and graduated from Waseda University in 1987. He soon joined TV Man Union, directing several prize-winning documentaries. His first feature film, Maborosi, won the Osella d’Oro at the Venice FF in 1995. His second feature, Afterlife, distributed in over 30 countries, brought himinternational acclaim. His third film, Distance, was selected to screen in Competition at the Cannes IFF 2001 and his fourth film, Nobody Knows, received the Best Actor Award (Yagira Yuuya) at the Cannes IFF 2004. In 2008, Still Walking had its international premiere in Toronto, and won the Best Director Award at the Asian Film Awards and the Golden Astor Prize at the Mar del Plata IFF.