DIRECTOR'S PROFILE
SATOSHI KON
Director/Original Story/Screenplay/Character Design
Born on October 12, 1963 in Hokkaido, Kon went to Musashino Art University and studied Visual Communication Design after graduating from high school.
While still at University, he made his debut as a comic artist on Young Magazine. With his detailed illustration and composition being highly appraised, he went on to work on 'Kaikisen'(1990) and 'World Apart Horror'.
In the meantime, he participated in 'Rojin Z'(Dir. Hironori Kitakubo, 1990) as a background artist, in 'Hashire, Meros'(Dir. Masaaki Oosumi, 1991) as a layout artist, in 'Patlabor2'(Dir. Mamoru Oshii, 1993) as a background artist/layout artist, and in 'MEMORIES'(Dir. Koji Morimoro, 1995) as a background artist/layout artist/script writer. His unique composition where everything within the frame is clearly defined and cleverly laid out attracted the industry's attention.
In 1998, he made a directorial debut with 'Perfect Blue'.
Originally planned to be released as a straight-to-video film,
it managed to get a theatrical release and was received well
both domestically and internationally. The year 2002 saw the
release of his second film 'Millennium Actress', which
was released all across the United States. Sony Pictures Japan
proudly presents his third feature film, 'Toyko Godfathers'.
PERFECT BLUE - Satoshi Kon's Directorial Debut
(1997/Colour/Vista/81 mins/R-15/Original story by Yoshikazu Takeuchi/Directed by Satoshi Kon/Screenplay by Sadayuki Murai/Voices by Junko Iwao, Rika Matsumoto etc/Distributed by Rex Entertainment)
Kon's first film which made him a world-known animation creator.
A Psycho-horror film, 'Perfect Blue' depicted psychological fears and horrors of modern times by blurring the reality and fantasy.
Miwa, an ex-pop idol, pursues acting in order to salvage her
career but is never offered desirable roles. She is advised
by her manager to take up a role of a girl who gets raped in
the story. She agrees to do this and manages to turn around
her career for the better, or it seems so. From that moment,
she starts to suffer from the mirror image of herself that won't
give up singing. Script writers and production staff involved
in her career change start to get murdered one by one. Who is
the killer? Is it Miwa herself?
MILLENNIUM ACTRESS - Satoshi Kon's second film
(2002/Colour/Vista/81 mins/Directed by Satoshi Kon/Screenplay by Sadayuki Murai/Voices by Miyo Shoji, Nami Ogawa, Tomiko Orikasa etc/Distributed by Clockworks)
Kon's second film which led the Hollywood major Dreamworks to acquire the world distribution rights. Emerging from the blurred reality and fiction is the life of a woman - this spectacular set-up has won the film an excellent reputation.
Once a superstar actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara has hidden herself from the public for many years. One day, two video journalists turn up at her doorstep with an intention to make a documentary about the life of this fallen star. Chiyoko was first spotted by a scout in the pre-wartime Tokyo and became a movie actress. Her hidden intention however was to be reunited with the first man she had ever fallen in love with. Her journey in search of him carries her and the two journalists from the pre-war Manchuria and back to the Civil War age. Chiyoko runs through the Edo and Meiji periods, go pass even the present and over to the future. What is it that she sees there?
List of awards 'Millennium Actress'
- 5th ACA Media Arts Festival, Grand Prize in the Animation Category
- Fantasia 2001, Best Animation Film
- Fantasia 2001, The Fantasia Ground-breaking Award
- Sitges 2001 Oriental Express Award
- Mainichi Film Contest, Shinro Ofuji Award
- Tokyo Anime Award Film Festival, Theatre Movie Category Best Entry Award
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