Film director Naomi Kawase was born in Nara Prefecture on May 30, 1969, and still resides there.

After graduating from a photography school, she worked as a lecturer while producing documentary films. In 1997, at age 27, she became the youngest person ever to win the Camera d'Or (Best New Director Award) at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature film, "Suzaku of the Nightingale." She then won the festival's Grand Prix in 2007 for "The Mourning Forest." In 2009, she became the first woman and Asian to receive the Golden Coach Award, given to directors who have made significant contributions to the festival. A retrospective of her work was held in Paris last October.

At the 66th Cannes Film Festival, held this month, she served on the jury for the competition section alongside director Steven Spielberg and actress Cole Kidman. This is the first time in 17 years that a Japanese person has been selected as a judge, since costume designer Ishioka Eiko served as a judge in 1996. During the event, she wore a dress with a Japanese aesthetic, and her gorgeous kimono also attracted attention.

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