is a Japanese filmmaker. He rose to prominence with his drama films Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008) and Like Father, Like Son (2013), for the latter he won the Jury Prize at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

His drama film Shoplifters (2018) won the Palme d'Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film representing Japan. He has since directed Broker (2022) and Monster (2023), to critical acclaim.

Early life and education Kore-eda's father was born in Taiwan. Kore-eda's paternal grandparents could not marry under Japanese law at the time as they had the same last name, so they had eloped to Taiwan, then under Japanese colonial rule, where they could marry. Kore-eda has cited this as a reason for his affinity toward Taiwan.

Kore-eda's father was conscripted into the Japanese military during World War II and detained in Siberia for three years after the end of the war.

Hirokazu Kore-eda was born on 6 June 1962 in Nerima, Tokyo. He is the youngest of three children. From an early age, Kore-eda watched movies with his mother. He said through an interpreter, "My mother loved films! She adored Ingrid Bergman, Joan Fontaine, Vivien Leigh! We couldn't afford to go together to the cinema, but she was always watching their movies on TV. She stopped all family business or discussions to watch these movies. We would watch together. So I adored film—like her."

After seeing Japan win the gold medal in men's volleyball at the 1972 Munich Olympics, he started playing in middle school. He rose to team captain in high school as a setter.

He initially failed his entrance exams, but was accepted into Waseda University a year later. He graduated from Waseda University's Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences in 1987.

Career Before becoming a director, Kore-eda worked as an assistant director on television documentaries. He directed his first television documentary, Lessons from a Calf, in 1991. He directed several other documentary films thereafter.

Kore-eda's 1994 documentary August without Him depicts his friendship with Hirata Yutaka, who had HIV/AIDS. Filmed between 1992 and 1994, it depicts Yutaka activism as the first Japanese person to publicly admit having contracted the disease as a homosexual. The film ends with his condition having deteriorated. Yutaka died of AIDS complications on 29 May 1994.

Kore-eda's first fiction feature film, Maborosi (1995), premiered at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival. It won the Golden Osella for Best Cinematography. At the first Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema in 1999, he won awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay for his film After Life.

In 2005, Kore-eda won the Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Film and Best Director for his film Nobody Knows. His 2008 film Still Walking also earned accolades, including Best Director at the 2009 Asian Film Awards and the Golden Ástor for Best Film at the 2008 Mar del Plata International Film Festival.

Kore-eda's 2013 film Like Father, Like Son premiered and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It did not win, but it won the Jury Prize and a commendation from the Ecumenical Jury. In October 2013, the film won the Rogers People's Choice Award at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival.

Kore-eda's 2015 film Our Little Sister was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. His 2016 film After the Storm debuted to critical acclaim at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category. For his work on it, Kore-eda won Best Director at the Yokohama Film Festival. He won Best Film and Best Director at the Japan Academy Prizes for his 2017 film The Third Murder, which also screened in the main competition of the 74th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2018, his film Shoplifters, about a young girl welcomed in by a family of shoplifters, premiered and won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In 2018, he won the Donostia Award for his life-time achievement at San Sebastián International Film Festival.

In 2019, Kore-eda directed The Truth, starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke. It is his first film shot in Europe and not in Japanese.

In 2021, Kore-eda directed Broker. The film was shot in South Korea, featuring a predominantly South Korean cast and crew. It was first released on 8 June 2022. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.

In January 2022, it was announced that Kore-eda would be working with a team of directors including Megumi Tsuno, Hiroshi Okuyama, and Takuma Sato on a nine-episode series, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, adapted from the manga Kiyo in Kyoto.

In November 2022, Kore-eda disclosed that he had completed shooting his next Japanese film, Monster. With post-production underway, Monster was scheduled for release in Japan on 2 June 2023. This release date positioned the film for a potential world premiere in May at Cannes. It won the Queer Palm and the Best Screenplay Award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. In 2025, Netflix released Kore-eda's T.V. series Asura. It is based on Kuniko Mukōda's novel of the same name.

In 2026, Kore-eda first science fiction film Sheep in the Box had its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. His following film will be the live-action adaptation Look Back, based on the 2021 one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, which will have its world premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it will compete for the Golden Lion.

Style and influences According to the Harvard Film Archive, Kore-eda's works "reflect the contemplative style and pacing of such luminaries as Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang". Kore-eda is often compared to Yasujirō Ozu, but has said he feels more influenced by Ken Loach and Mikio Naruse.

Personal life Kore-eda married in 2002 and has a daughter, born in 2007.

In a 2009 interview, Kore-eda said that Still Walking is based on his own family.

Filmography

Feature films Year English Title Original Title Credited as Notes Director Writer Editor 1995 Maborosi 幻の光 1998 After Life ワンダフルライフ 2001 Distance DISTANCE ディスタンス 2004 Nobody Knows 誰も知らない Also producer 2006 Hana 花よりもなほ 2008 Still Walking 歩いても 歩いても 2009 Air Doll 空気人形 Also producer 2011 I Wish 奇跡 2013 Like Father, Like Son そして父になる 2015 Our Little Sister 海街diary 2016 After the Storm 海よりもまだ深く 2017 The Third Murder 三度目の殺人 2018 Shoplifters 万引き家族 Also producer 2019 The Truth La Vérité French-language debut 2022 Broker 브로커 Korean-language debut 2023 Monster 怪物 Also executive producer 2026 Sheep in the Box 箱の中の羊 Look Back ルックバック

Only producer Year Film Notes1993Kakuto2003Hebi ichigo2006Yureru Planner2014leji Consulting producer2018Ten Years JapanExecutive producer2022Mai Sumoru Rando

Documentaries Year Film Notes 1991 Lessons from a Calf However... Also producer 1992 Where Has All the Pollution Gone?I Wish I Could Be Japanese1993When Cinema Reflects the Times: Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang Documentary about filmmakers Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward YangSoul Sketches-Every Person's Kenji MiyazawaDocumentary short filmYottsu no shibu jikoku 1994 August without HimDocumentary about HIV patient Hirata Yutaka1996This World A filmed correspondence between Kawase Naomi and Kore-eda.Also writer and cinematographer2003Birthplace Documentary about the old sets from his first feature MaborosiAlso editor2008 Daijōbu Dearu Yō ni: Cocco Owaranai Tabi Documentary about CoccoSeries Constitution. Article 9. War Renunciation. Oblivion 2012 The Message from Fukushima Documentary short2021The Center Lane Documentary short about swimmer Rikako Ikee2026 5: The Time Called Arashi Documentary following Arashi up to their last concert (and end of activities) in May 2026

Television Year Film Credited as Notes Director Writer Editor1991Nonfix TV Series1996Without Memory TV Documentary Movie2010Kaidan Horror Classics Anthology TV SeriesDirected episode "Nochi no hi"2012Going My Home TV Miniseries2015Ishibumi TV Documentary film 2020A Day-Off of Kasumi ArimuraTV SeriesDirected episodes "Tada ima no nochi ni" and "Ningen Doku"2023The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House TV MiniseriesAlso executive producer2025AsuraTV Series

Accolades

1995: Vancouver International Film Festival – Dragons and Tigers Award (Maborosi) 1998: San Sebastian Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize (After Life) 1998: Three Continents Festival – Golden Montgolfiere (After Life) 1999: Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema – Best Film and Best Screenplay (After Life) 2004: Flanders International Film Festival Ghent – Grand Prix (Nobody Knows) 2005: Blue Ribbon Awards – Best Film and Best Director (Nobody Knows) 2008: Mar del Plata International Film Festival – Best Film (Still Walking) 2009: Asian Film Awards – Best Director (Still Walking) 2009: Blue Ribbon Awards – Best Director (Still Walking) 2011: San Sebastian Film Festival – Best Screenplay (I Wish) 2012: Asia-Pacific Film Festival – Best Director (I Wish) 2013: Cannes Film Festival – Jury Prize (Like Father, Like Son) 2013: Asia-Pacific Film Festival – Best Film and Best Director (Like Father, Like Son) 2013: São Paulo International Film Festival – Audience Award Best Foreign Film (Like Father, Like Son) 2013: Vancouver International Film Festival – Audience Award International Films (Like Father, Like Son) 2013: Yokohama Film Festival – Best Screenplay (Like Father, Like Son) 2015: San Sebastian Film Festival – Audience Award Best Film (Our Little Sister) 2015: Yokohama Film Festival – Best Director (Our Little Sister) 2016: Japan Academy Prize – Best Film and Best Director (Our Little Sister) 2016: Films from the South – Best Film (After the Storm) 2018: Japan Academy Prize – Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing (The Third Murder) 2018: Cannes Film Festival – Palme d'Or (Shoplifters) 2018: Los Angeles Film Critics Association – Best Foreign Film (Shoplifters) 2018: San Sebastián International Film Festival – Donostia Award 2018: Asia Pacific Screen Awards – Best Film (Shoplifters) 2018: Denver Film Festival – Best Film (Shoplifters) 2018: Filmfest München – Best International Film (Shoplifters) 2018: Films from the South – Audience Award (Shoplifters) 2018: Vancouver International Film Festival – Most Popular International Feature (Shoplifters) 2019: Asian Film Awards – Best Film (Shoplifters) 2019: Japan Academy Prize – Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Shoplifters) 2019: César Award – Best Foreign Film (Shoplifters) 2019: Guldbagge Awards – Best Foreign Film (Shoplifters) 2022: Cannes Film Fesitval - Ecumenical Jury Award - (Broker) 2022: Venice International Film Festival - Robert Bresson Award - (Broker) 2023: Asian Film Awards – Best Director (Broker) 2023: Cannes Film Fesitval - Queer Palm (Monster) 2024: Asian Film Awards – Best Director (Monster) 2025: Seoul International Drama Awards - Best Director (Asura) 2026: Venice International Film Festival - Cinema & Arts Award (Look Back) 2026: Venice International Film Festival - CinemaSarà Award (Look Back) 2026: Venice International Film Festival - Fanheart3 Award – Special Mention (Look Back) 2026: Venice International Film Festival - SIGNIS Award (Look Back) 2026: Venice International Film Festival - UNIMED Award (Look Back) 2026: Singapore International Film Festival – Cinema Honorary Award

Frequent collaborators