is a Japanese filmmaker. An alumnus of the University of Tokyo and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he first gained international recognition for Happy Hour (2015), Asako I & II (2018) and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021), which premiered in the main competitions of Locarno, Cannes, and Berlin respectively.
For Drive My Car (2021), Hamaguchi was nominated at the 94th Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay; the film was the first Japanese production to be nominated for Best Picture, and it won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Following Drive My Car, Hamaguchi wrote and directed the critically acclaimed films Evil Does Not Exist (2023), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice, and All of a Sudden (2026), which won the award for Best Actress at Cannes.
Career Hamaguchi was born on December 16, 1978, in Kawasaki City in Japan. His father was an official at Japan’s Ministry of Construction, and he spent part of his childhood in Iran because of his father’s job transfers.
When he entered the University of Tokyo, he had no particular interest in film and was entirely unaware that Shigehiko Hasumi, who was then serving as the university’s president, was also a prominent film critic. Hamaguchi had no contact with Hasumi until he himself gained international recognition. While at the university, he became deeply involved in film through its cinema club and made several 8 mm films, including Like Nothing Happened and SOLARIS.
2000s After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Hamaguchi worked in the commercial film industry for a few years before entering the graduate program in film at Tokyo University of the Arts where he studied with and was influenced by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
In 2007, he directed Solaris, an unauthorized version of Stanisław Lem's novel of same name, during his first year as a graduation student at the Tokyo University of the Arts, the film had a considerable budget for a graduation project, ¥4 million. Since the production failed to gain the novel rights, the resulting 90-minute was never released.
His second graduation film, Passion (2008) was selected for the competition of the Tokyo Filmex.
2010s Alongside Kō Sakai, Hamaguchi directed a three-part documentary about survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Voices from the Waves was selected for the competition at the 2013 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. The duo also directed Storytellers, which won the Sky Perfect IDEHA Prize.
His 5-hour-long drama film Happy Hour (2015), marked his first film selected to a major western film festival, premiered at the Golden Leopard competition of the 2015 Locarno Film Festival and won the Best Actress award for its four lead actresses alongside a Special Mention for its script. It was also given the Special Jury award at the 2016 Japan Movie Critic Awards, and the Best Newcomer award of the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Geijutsu Sensho Awards that year. Hamaguchi first developed the screenplay while he was an artist in residence at KIITO Design and Creative Center Kobe in 2013. It came out of an improvisational acting workshop he held for non-professionals, with many of the film's performers having participated in the workshop.
He followed with Asako I & II (2018), which marked his first entry at the Cannes Film Festival, directly into the main competition for the Palme d'Or. Based on the 2010 novel by Tomoka Shibasaki, it follows a woman who falls in love with two men who look the same but act completely differently. It received positive reviews, establishing his career in the west.
His anthology film Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021), delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was selected to the main competition of the 71st Berlin International Film Festival where it won Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (2nd place). It received critical acclaim.
Drive My Car (also 2021), premiered at the main competition of the 74th Cannes Film Festival where it won the Best Screenplay award. It also received critical acclaim, winning numerous awards, including: Best Picture prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film. At the 94th Academy Awards, the film won Best International Feature Film and Hamaguchi was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, for the latter he became the third Japanese director nominated.
His Evil Does Not Exist (2023), premiered at the main competition of the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize (2nd place). The film received critical acclaim. That same year, he released the short film Gift, which uses the same footage as Evil Does Not Exist (though with a different story) and is accompanied by a live score by Eiko Ishibashi.
His French language debut All of a Sudden (2026), had its world premiere at the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where its stars Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto won the Best Actress prize. It received critical acclaim.
Influences and style Hamaguchi has referred to himself as "purely a cinephile" and "conventionally in love with Hollywood films." He has been influenced by the works of John Cassavetes.
In April 2024, he listed his 50 favorite films for LaCinetek. His selection explores various cinema genres and periods, including works from directors such as Robert Bresson, Clint Eastwood, Howard Hawks, Edward Yang, Kenji Mizoguchi and Robert Zemeckis.
Quotes "To some extent, all films are fiction and documentary at the same time. I have experienced to make both, and I believe there is no such thing as pure fiction or pure documentary."The Nikkei [*Japan's economic newspaper] (10 October 2021) "The actor is acting in front of the camera. What the camera captures there is a documentary about the actors, because they're doing something which happens only once." (On the multilingual staging in Drive My Car) "In a multilingual staging, of course, they're not understanding the meaning of the words. Instead, the body language and the voice tones is what becomes more important to convey those feelings or the emotional state of the respective actors. It becomes easier to focus and react. That's a nice way I look at it to get a more simple and strong performance." (On the ending of Drive My Car) "Once I talked with a big fan of Drive My Car who said that it really would have been perfect without that ending. (Laugh) Well, I think maybe the reason I ended that way is to make it a bit imperfect." "In terms of the final staging of the play in applause, if I had ended the movie at that point, presumably the audience would want to do a round of applause, and it would almost be like closing of a full circle. But for me that didn't really feel like a satisfying ending. I wanted to do something a bit more disruptive, to leave some sort of break." (On the ending of Drive My Car) "I have no any plans of making a sequel, but I was just sort of playing around with things at the end there. One other thing I'd like to say is that the title itself also might give a clue to how you can interpret the ending."
Personal life
Political views In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Hamaguchi signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.
Filmography
Feature films YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNotes2003Like Nothing Happened何食わぬ顔2007Solaris2008PassionGraduation work at Tokyo University of the Arts2010The Depths심도Co-written with Kôta Ôura; Korean-language debut2013Intimacies親密さ2015Happy HourハッピーアワーCo-written with Tadashi Nohara and Tomoyuki Takahashi2018Asako I & II寝ても覚めてもCo-written with Sachiko Tanaka2021Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy偶然と想像Drive My Carドライブ・マイ・カーCo-written with Takamasa Oe2023Evil Does Not Exist悪は存在しない2026All of a Sudden急に具合が悪くなるCo-written with Léa Le Dimna; French-language debut
Only writer YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNotes2020Wife of a Spyスパイの妻Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Documentaries YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNotes2011The Sound of the Waves東北記録映画三部作 なみのおとCo-directed by Kō Sakai2013Voices from the Waves - Kesennuma東北記録映画三部作 なみのこえ 気仙沼Voices from the Waves - Shinchi-machi東北記録映画三部作 なみのこえ 新地町Storytellers東北記録映画三部作 うたうひと
Short films Year English Title Original titleNotes2001Go to the Movies映画を見に行く2003Like Nothing Happened何食わぬ顔2005The BeginningはじまりFriend of the Night2006Scent of Memory記憶の香りAttack遊撃2009I Love Thee For Good永遠に君を愛す2013Touching the Skin of Eeriness不気味なものの肌に触れる2016Heaven Is Still Far Away天国はまだ遠い2023GiftギフトCreated to accompany Eiko Ishibashi's new album
Awards Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref2015Nantes Three Continents FestivalLe prix du publicHappy Hour2021Berlin International Film FestivalSilver Bear Grand Jury PrizeWheel of Fortune and FantasyCannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Drive My Car Best ScreenplayFIPRESCI PrizePrize of the Ecumenical JuryNew York Film Critics CircleBest PictureWashington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest International / Foreign Language FilmBoston Society of Film CriticsBest FilmBest DirectorBest ScreenplayLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationBest PictureBest Screenplay2022 Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayBest Director Best International Feature Film National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Film Best DirectorBest Screenplay2023 Asian Film Awards Best Director Venice International Film Festival Golden Lion Evil Does Not Exist Grand Jury Prize Premio CinemaSarà - Special Mention Edipo Re Award - Ca'Foscari Young Jury Award Premio Fondazione Fai Persona Lavoro Ambiente FIPRESCI Award 2026 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or All of a Sudden Asia Pacific Screen AwardsBest Film Best Director
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees of Asian descent List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Japan References
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