Tetsuya Bessho | Actor, Founder, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia
Made Hollywood debut in 1990 with the Japan/US collaborative movie Solar Crisis. Prolific in movies, TV, stage, and radio. A "Visit Japan" Ambassador for the Japan Tourism Agency, an advisor for the JAPAN HOUSE Project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and selected by the Japanese Cabinet Office as a Global Messenger of Japan.
Naomi Kawase | Director, Lies (2015)
Born and raised in Nara, KAWASE has been making films that consistently pursue “reality” while crossing the boundaries of documentary and fiction. She has received international recognition and many awards, such as the Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes. Additionally, her new film Vision (2018/ Starring Juliette Binoche) and other recent films have extended her creative activities to the whole world, and she founded the Nara International Film Festival in her hometown; devoting herself to training younger directors.
Photo credit Leslie Kee