Born in Kanagawa in 1978, Ryusuke Hamaguchi graduated from the University of Tokyo, worked in the commercial film industry and then studied film at the Tokyo University of the Arts. After the graduation film Passion (2008) he made, with Kō Sakai, a trilogy of documentaries about survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. His five-hour improvised film Happy Hour (2015) won its four lead actresses the best actress prize at Locarno, and Asako I & II (2018) competed for the Palme d'Or. Drive My Car (2021), adapted from a Haruki Murakami story, won the prize for best screenplay at Cannes and the Oscar for best international feature.
Filmography
- Passion (2008)
- Intimacies (2012)
- Voices from the Waves (2013)
- Happy Hour (2015)
- Asako I & II (2018)
- Drive My Car (2021)
- Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021)
- Evil Does Not Exist (2023)