Short Shorts Applications

Tadanobu Asano

• Born on November 27, 1973 in Yokoyama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Asano made his film debut with "Swimming Upstream". Since then, he has made numerous independent and major Japanese films. Many of them have received awards in film fests overseas, making him an internationally acclaimed actor. He has also appeared in many movies of world renowned directors, such as "wkw/tk/1996@7'55"hk.net"(dir. Kar Wai Wong), "Away with Words" (dir. Christopher Doyle), "Café Lumière" (dir. Hsiao-hsien Hou). In 2003, Asano received the Upstream Award for best actor at the Venice Film Festival for his role in "Last Life in the Universe" (dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), a joint production of Thailand, Japan, and other countries. He portrayed Genghis Khan the film "Mongolia", which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the recent 80th Academy Awards. Asano is slated to appear in more films such as "Yume no mani mani" (scheduled to premiere in the fall of 2008, dir. Takeo Kimura) and "Tsurugidake: Ten no Ki" (scheduled to premiere in 2009, dir. Daisaku Kimura). "224466" will be his second directorial film since Tori in 2004.

Shidou Nakamura

• Shidou was born in Tokyo on September 14, 1972. His father is Mikio, the third son of Tokizo Nakamura III, a famous Kabuki Onnagata (a male actor who specializes in female roles) during the Showa Era. His uncles are Kinnosuke Yorozuya and Katsuo Nakamura. Tokizo named him “Shidou.” Shidou made his stage debut as a Kabuki actor at the age of 8 at Kabukiza. Though born into a world of tradition and formalities, Shidou is active in other productions besides Kabuki. He has been widely active in films, television dramas, fashion, and rock bands. As for films, he received 5 best new talent awards for his first movie role, "Ping Pong" (2002). Later, he appeared in well known films such as "Iden & Tity", "Yamato", "SPIRIT", and "Letters from Iwo Jima". In 2008, in addition to his activities as a Kabuki actor, his roles in the upcoming films "ICHI" and "Red Cliff" (dir. John Woo) are highly anticipated. Both films are scheduled to premiere this fall. Jiroru: Densetsu no Yo-na-o-shi will be Shidou’s first directorial film.

Genki Sudo

• Genki Sudo was born in Tokyo on March 8, 1978. Once an active martial artist, Sudo suddenly announced his retirement from the ring at the end of 2006. Before his retirement, he had been active as an actor and model, and his calligraphy had been selected for the Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition. Presently, he is active mainly as a writer. He is a best selling author with literary works such as Theory of Happiness, Kaze no tani no ano hito to kekkon suru (literally "I'm going to marry that woman in the valley of winds"), Kami wa teeburkurosu (literally "God is a tablecloth"), Revolution, and Bashar Sudo Genki. Arifureta Kisho is his first directorial film.

VERBAL (m-flo)

• Born in Tokyo on August 21, 1975. VERBAL is a member of the producing unit, “m-flo.” One of m-flo’s most outstanding talents is their mix of Japanese and English lyrics in their music. Their latest album “Award SuperNove -Loves Best-” ranked #1 on the Oricon chart immediately after it was released. VERBAL also collaborates with countless artists through his extensive connections. Along with ILMARI (RIP SLYME), he is a member of the extravagant rap group, TERIYAKI BOYZ®. He also has close ties with overseas artists such as Daft Punk, Pharrell, and Kanye West. Last year, VERBAL made a great leap forward as a DJ and his style has captured the attention of the fashion industry. He is also the designer for the jewelry brand, “ANTONIO MURPHY & ASTRO™” VERBAL makes his first attempt as a film director with “DEAD NOISE.” With his impressive natural ability, he will surely continue to succeed in various fields in the future.

ILMARI (RIP SLYME)

• As the MC of RIP SLYME, he made his major debut in 2001 with “Steppers Delight”. They became Japan’s first hip hop group to sell a million records. “Steppers Delight” performed at the Budokan, as well as overseas, and amphitheaters that attracted over 50,000 fans. As a member of a monster hip hop group, ILMARI continues to lead the scene. He’s also actively involved in solo projects including the talked-about group TERIYAKI BOYZ®. In this film, ILMARI makes his directorial debut.

YUSUKE SANTAMARIA

• Born on March 12, 1971 in Oita Prefecture, Japan. As the vocal and emcee for BINGOBONGO, which was Japan’s only Latin rock band, Santamaria made his debut in April, 1994 with the group’s album, WILD PITCH. After the rock band’s breakup, he appeared regularly in the Japanese network CX’s TV show called　"Bayside Shakedown", playing police lieutenant Masayoshi Mashita. He revived his career with this role and became active in TV, radio, and commercials. Later, he exhibited his talents as a distinguished writer, with essays Sayonara Eien Ni ( “Good-bye Forever”). and Omoteura Ichi Karada (“Two-Faced Body”). He appeared in numerous TV shows, such as CX’s Omiai Kekkon (“Arranged Marriage”) and Hanamura Daisuke. He played the lead role in the movie Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi”which premiered in May of 2005, and received an award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at the 29th Japan Academy Prize. He has appeared in movies “UDON” and "Sakai-ke no shiawase" in 2006, and Kisaragi in 2007. He has also appeared in a TV drama 「Konshu, tsuma ga uwaki shimasu」 (“This Week, My Wife Will Cheat on Me”) and he played the lead role in the stage play 「Osore wo Shiranu Kawakami Otojiro」 (“The Fearless Otojiro Kawakami”) in 2007. He makes his directorial debut with this film.