Lee Sang-il (director)

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Sang-il
李相日
Born (1974-01-06) 6 January 1974
Niigata Prefecture, Japan
OccupationFilmmaker
Japanese name
Kanji李相日
Kanaリ・サンイル
Transcriptions
RomanizationRi San'iru
Korean name
Hangul이상일
Hanja李相日
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationI Sangil
McCune–ReischauerI Sangil

Lee Sang-il (李相日, Ri San'iru; Korean: 이상일, born January 6, 1974) is a Japanese-Korean filmmaker. His comedy film Hula Girls (2006) earned him the Japanese Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, while his drama film Kokuho (2025) became one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time.

Early life

Lee Sang-il was born in Niigata Prefecture on January 6, 1974. He studied at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image in Kawasaki, Kanagawa.

Career

Lee's first film Chong was a featurette about the lives of third-generation Koreans in Japan. His film Hula Girls was declared the best Japanese film of 2006 by Kinema Jumpo, and earned Lee Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards.[1] His film Unforgiven was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[2][3] His film Kokuho (2025) became one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time.[4][5] At the 2025 Tokyo International Film Festival, he received the honorary Akira Kurosawa Award, which is given each year for extraordinary contributions to world cinema.[6]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Tokyo International Film Festival

Year Category Nominated work Result
2025 Akira Kurosawa Award Himself[6] Honoured

References

  1. ^ 第 30 回日本アカデミー賞優秀作品 (in Japanese). Japan Academy Prize. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Unforgiven". TIFF. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Toronto Adds 75+ Titles To 2013 Edition". Indiewire. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. ^ "吉沢亮、稀代の女方歌舞伎役者に 原作:吉田修一×監督:李相日『国宝』映画化". Oricon. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  5. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (18 May 2025). "Lee Sang-il, Stars Detail Grueling Kabuki Journey on Cannes Film 'Kokuho': 'I Could Not Hear Anything Except My Own Heartbeats and Breath'". Variety.
  6. ^ a b Abid Rahman (27 August 2025). "Chloé Zhao, Lee Sang-il Set for Tokyo Film Fest's Kurosawa Akira Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  7. ^ "怒り". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Wandering | JAPAN CUTS 2023". Japan Society. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
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