is a Japanese film director working in Japan and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. His directorial works and screenplays often make use of improvisation techniques. Currently, Suwa is the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Tokyo Zokei University is a private university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1966 by Japanese art educator, fashion designer and design journalist, Yoko Kuwasawa (1910-1977). It is a four-year art college offering both bachelor's and master's degrees in studio ...

Biography

Having graduated from Hiroshima Prefectural Hatsukaichi High School (located in

Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a market traditionally held on the 20th of each month with ''hatsuka'' (廿日) meaning "20th day" and ''ichi'' (市) translating to "market". The market continues to this day ...

), Suwa studied at Tokyo Zokei University, under the tutorship of Nobuhiro Kawanaka. While at the college, he began working producing independent films, of which ''Hanasareru Gang'' was chosen for the Pia Film Festival. After graduating from Tokyo Zokei, Suwa began directing

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

s, and worked with directors such as Sōgo Ishii and Masashi Yamamoto. In 1996, his feature film directorial debut, was released. Suwa's second film, ''M/Other'', was released soon after in 1999, winning the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize at the

1999 Cannes Film Festival The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker, actor and author David Cronenberg was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the French– Belgian film ''Rosetta'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The festi ...

and being the subject of several other awards and critical acclaim, both in Japan and internationally. ''M/Other'' also won the award for best screenplay at the 50th

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

s. His assistant director in the film was Miwa Nishikawa. Suwa's third feature film, '' H Story'' (starring Kō Machida), was released in March 2000. It presents itself as an autobiographical documentary on an attempt to remake

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

' '' Hiroshima Mon Amour'', and had been noted as an audacious attempt at a

Nouvelle Vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

portrayal of his hometown, Hiroshima. The film is bilingual French-Japanese. Also during the same year, he guest-appeared in and co-created the Sōgo Ishii-directed

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

epic ''Gojoe Reisenki: GOJEI''. In 2005, he directed and wrote , which featured a French

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

and crew and is entirely in French. The film won the Special Prize of the Jury Award and the C.I.C.A.E. Award at the 58th Locarno Film Festival. Later, in 2006, Suwa participated in the international omnibus film ''

Paris, je t'aime ''Paris, je t'aime'' (; ''Paris, I love you'') is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different arrondissements (districts). The 22 director ...

''. He directed and wrote the segment representing the 2nd arrondissement, filmed at Place des Victoires. ''Paris, je t'aime'' was the opening film of the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

selection at the

2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over t ...

. In 2009, Suwa directed jointly with

Hippolyte Girardot Hippolyte Girardot (born Frédéric Girardot; 10 October 1955) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He is the father of actress Ana Girardot. Selected filmography * 1973: '' La Femme de Jean'', directed by Yannick Bellon, Rémi * ...

''Yuki & Nina'', another French-Japanese bilingual movie which was shot in both France and Japan.

Directorial works

*'' Santa ga machi ni yatte kuru'' (16mm) (1982) *''Hanasareru GANG'' (8mm) (1995) *''2/Duo'' (1997) *''M/Other'' (1999) *'' H Story'' ( 2001) *'' After war'' (Segment: "A letter from Hiroshima") (2002) *''Un couple parfait'' (2005) *'' Paris je t'aime'' (segment: Place des Victoires) (2006) *''Yuki & Nina'' (co-directed with

) (2009) *''The Lion Sleeps Tonight'' (2017) *''Voices in the Wind'' (2020)

Television documentaries

*'' Abe Kobo ga sagashiateta jidai'' (1994) *''Hollywood wo Kaketa Kaiyū-itan no hito Kamiyama Sojin '' (1995; Higashinippon Broadcasting)

Acting work

* '' Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle'' (2021)

References

External links

*
Profile at Tokyo Zokei University

Extensive interview of Suwa about his career before M/Other
(in French) * For a study of French language in Suwa's movies, se
A. D'Hautcourt, « Nobuhiro Suwa et le(s) français », ''Journal of Inquiry and Research'' 92, 2010, p. 129-139
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Suwa, Nobuhiro Japanese film directors Japanese screenwriters People from Hiroshima 1960 births Living people Tokyo Zokei University alumni Academic staff of Tokyo Zokei University Academic staff of Tokyo University of the Arts Presidents of universities and colleges in Japan