Nozomu Kasagi

Nozomu Kasagi (笠木 望, Kasagi Nozomu, born 1974 in Hokkaido, Japan) is a Japanese film director. He started creating independent films while he was a student at Sophia University in Tokyo. His early work was screened at various film festivals, including the Akiruno Film Festival, the Sotsuseisai, Kyoto International Student Film & Video Festival, the Tsutaya Indies Movie Festival, Planet Film Festival, and Mito Short Film Festival. In 2002, he made his debut as a film director with “Swan's Song,” which was based on SATO Sakichi’s screenplay. He has since been active in various genres, directing: TV drama series, such as “Ganso: Shonan-wara-yane Monogatari” [lit. The Original Shonan Tiled Roof Stories], starring TERAJIMA Susumu and TSUDA Kanji; music videos for artists such as HAYASHIBARA Megumi and Seikima-II; stage plays, such as his modern version of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” starring ASANO Tadanobu and AIKAWA Sho; and films, such as “Tokyo Real” based on the Shueisha Publishing Company's bestselling cell phone novel. In 2019, he directed the drama comedy film “Bullet Trip,” bringing home a Special Jury Award and Japan's first ever Best Foreign Language Film Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.