Before becoming a director, Koreeda 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. Koreeda's 1994 documentary
August without Him depicts his friendship with
A.I.D.S.-sufferer Hirata Yutaka. It follows Koreeda as he meets Yutaka and films his life between 1992 and 1994. The first Japanese person to admit he contracted the disease via homosexual contact, Yutaka speaks openly about his condition. The film ends with his condition having deteriorated. Yutaka died of AIDS complications on May 29, 1994. At the 1995
Venice Film Festival, Koreeda's first fiction feature film,
Maborosi, won a
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, Koreeda 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. Koreeda'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. Koreeda'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, Koreeda won Best Director at the
Yokohama 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, Koreeda 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, Koreeda 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 Koreeda 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, Koreeda 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 Koreeda's T.V. series
Asura. It is based on
Kuniko Mukōda's novel of the same name. In September of that year, Koreeda began work on his next movie,
Sheep in the Box.
Neon is reuniting with him to distribute the movie in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
Style and influences According to the
Harvard Film Archive, Koreeda's works "reflect the contemplative style and pacing of such luminaries as
Hou Hsiao-hsien and
Tsai Ming-liang". Koreeda is often compared to
Yasujirō Ozu, but has said he feels more influenced by
Ken Loach and
Mikio Naruse. In a 2009 interview, Koreeda said that
Still Walking is based on his own family. == Personal life ==