Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (黒沢 清, Kurosawa Kiyoshi), born on July 19, 1955, is a renowned Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic, author, actor, and professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. He is acclaimed for his unique psychological films which often explore ambiguous narratives and delve into the characters' inner turmoils and quests for meaning. While being highly regarded for his contributions to psychological horror and Japanese horror genres, Kurosawa has dabbled successfully in a variety of genres, marking his versatility. His most known work is the acclaimed 1997 film Cure. Despite most of his work being in Japanese, he has directed two films in French - Daguerrotype (2016) and Serpent's Path (2024). Early in his life, Kurosawa started making films about his life in high school and later studied filmmaking under the guidance of prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi at Rikkyo University. He started directing commercially in the 1980s, gaining recognition with his 1997 crime thriller film Cure. He has been lauded internationally for creating memorable narratives with character-driven storytelling.

Kurosawa's directing style has been compared to those of Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky, although he attributes his personal vision of the medium majorly to Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujirō Ozu. His dedication to filmmaking is apparent through his meticulous planning and attention to detail. He has consistently expressed admiration for American film directors such as Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Robert Aldrich, Richard Fleischer, and Tobe Hooper. He regularly works with actor Kōji Yakusho, who shares similar values and sensitivities. Besides directing, Kurosawa has authored a history of horror cinema and a novelization of his film Pulse. His remarkable filmography includes notable films like The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl (1985), The Guard from Underground (1992), and Loft (2005) among others. A lifelong advocate of the cinematic arts, Kiyoshi Kurosawa stands as an exemplary figure in world cinema.