Shin'ya Tsukamoto

The versatile Japanese talent Shinya Tsukamoto is an accomplished actor, director, writer, and even production designer, whose films have attracted a strong cult following. A native of Tokyo, many of Tsukamoto's films have as their theme the depersonalization caused by such a technologically-driven urban environment. He began making films as a teenager with a super 8 camera and started a theater group in University. After a number of shorts, his first full-length feature was "Tetsuo, the Iron Man." Shot on 16mm black and white film, it was a graphic science fiction allegory that earned him underground acclaim in 1989. He also wrote the script and appeared in the film as an actor, which he would do for many of his films. After directing the horror film "Hiruko the Goblin," he made the sequel "Tetsuo II: Body Hammer" in 1992 with a bigger budget. 1995's "Tokyo Fist" dealt with a common theme of his--revenge--and the film received acclaim at global festivals, further establishing him as a director with a unique voice. Gradually, his films evolved towards more realism with the noir-ish "Bullet Ballet" and the short-story adaptation "Sôseiji"(aka "Gemini") in '99. He also directed "Nightmare Detective" and its sequel, about a man who can enter other people's dreams, and in 2009 made "Tetsuo: The Bullet Man," the third installment in his sci-fi trilogy. As an actor he won acclaim for his role in Takashi Miike's satirical crime film "Ichi the Killer" in 2001.