
Directing
Naomi Kawase
Born May 30, 1969 Nara, Japan
Biography
Naomi Kawase (河瀨直美 Kawase Naomi, born May 30, 1969) is a Japanese film director. She graduated from Visual Arts Osaka in 1989. Many of her works have been documentaries, including Embracing, about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and Katatsumori, about the grandmother who raised her. Aside from being a filmmaker, she is the founder and Executive Director for the Nara International Film Festival.
Filmography

—
The Wolf, the Fox, and the Leopard
2026·Drama

4.0
Emergency Exit
2025·Drama

—
Echoes of Motherhood
2025·Drama

7.7
It Stopped Raining
2020·Drama

6.5
Amami
2016·Documentary

6.5
Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
2014·Documentary

6.9
The Tale of Iya
2013·Drama

—
Shining Besides Funny Moon
2013·Mystery

—
Destroy Vicious
2011·Crime

8.0
Rien ne s'efface
2008·Documentary

6.3
Birth/Mother
2006·Documentary

—
Women Make Films
2004·Documentary

6.5
Shara
2003·Drama

6.3
Letter from a Yellow Cherry Blossom
2002·Documentary

6.4
Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth
2001·Documentary

5.0
Kaleidoscope
1999·Documentary

7.7
Love & Pop
1998·Drama

7.0
Sun on the Horizon
1996·Documentary

5.0
See Heaven
1995·Documentary

7.7
Katatsumori
1994·Documentary

6.3
Embracing
1992·Documentary