Koji Fukada

Directing

Koji Fukada

Born

1980-01-05 (46)

Place of birth

Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

42 titles

Koji Fukada (深田 晃司, born 1980) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Born in Tokyo, Fukada had a father who was a film aficionado and he watched many films on VHS when he was young. When he was 19 years old studying at Taisho University and discovered the Film School of Tokyo, he began taking evening classes in filmmaking. One of his teachers was Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He made his first feature-length film, The Chair, in 2002. He joined the Seinendan theater troupe, headed by Oriza Hirata, in 2005, and has often used their work and their actors in his films. His film Hospitalité won Best Picture in the Japanese Eyes competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2010. Au revoir…

Known for

Love on Trial poster
5.9

Mai, a rising J-Pop idol, is finally about to have her big break when she unexpectedly falls in love. But in a treacherous industry where young singers must maintain an image of flawless purity, love is forbidden. When her relationship is exposed, Mai's agency takes drastic action, dragging the couple to court over the "no love" clause in her contract, throwing her life into chaos.

Love on Trial

2026

Love Life poster
7.2

Taeko and her husband, Jirō, are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man.

Love Life

2022

Nagi Notes poster
5.0

Yoriko, an artist living in rural Nagi, is haunted by a former love affair she cannot bear to mourn. When Yuri, a recently separated architect, travels from Tokyo to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, both women find themselves at a crossroad, each searching for ways to let go of the past and define their identities. Yuri's brief escape from the city settles into a quiet confrontation of loss and probing for the two women in bucolic Nagi.

Nagi Notes

2026

The Real Thing poster
6.5

Kazumichi Tsuji is a bored office worker in questionable relationships with two women at work. One day he meets the intriguing Ukiyo Hayama at a convenience store. However, having her in his life brings nothing but trouble.

The Real Thing

2020

A Girl Missing poster
6.5

Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she almost became a part of. While Ichiko cares for the grandmother, she is also a confidant to Motoko, the eldest sister. But one day, Motoko’s younger sister disappears. And the media soon reveal the kidnapper to be Ichiko’s own nephew.

A Girl Missing

2019

The Man from the Sea poster
5.8

A man is found washed up on a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, suffering from amnesia and speaking in broken Indonesian and Japanese.

The Man from the Sea

2018

Film credits

Behind the camera

Love on Trial poster
5.9

Mai, a rising J-Pop idol, is finally about to have her big break when she unexpectedly falls in love. But in a treacherous industry where young singers must maintain an image of flawless purity, love is forbidden. When her relationship is exposed, Mai's agency takes drastic action, dragging the couple to court over the "no love" clause in her contract, throwing her life into chaos.

Love on Trial

2026

Love on Trial poster
5.9

Mai, a rising J-Pop idol, is finally about to have her big break when she unexpectedly falls in love. But in a treacherous industry where young singers must maintain an image of flawless purity, love is forbidden. When her relationship is exposed, Mai's agency takes drastic action, dragging the couple to court over the "no love" clause in her contract, throwing her life into chaos.

Love on Trial

2026

Love Life poster
7.2

Taeko and her husband, Jirō, are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man.

Love Life

2022

Love Life poster
7.2

Taeko and her husband, Jirō, are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man.

Love Life

2022

Nagi Notes poster
5.0

Yoriko, an artist living in rural Nagi, is haunted by a former love affair she cannot bear to mourn. When Yuri, a recently separated architect, travels from Tokyo to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, both women find themselves at a crossroad, each searching for ways to let go of the past and define their identities. Yuri's brief escape from the city settles into a quiet confrontation of loss and probing for the two women in bucolic Nagi.

Nagi Notes

2026

Nagi Notes poster
5.0

Yoriko, an artist living in rural Nagi, is haunted by a former love affair she cannot bear to mourn. When Yuri, a recently separated architect, travels from Tokyo to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, both women find themselves at a crossroad, each searching for ways to let go of the past and define their identities. Yuri's brief escape from the city settles into a quiet confrontation of loss and probing for the two women in bucolic Nagi.

Nagi Notes

2026

The Real Thing poster
6.5

Kazumichi Tsuji is a bored office worker in questionable relationships with two women at work. One day he meets the intriguing Ukiyo Hayama at a convenience store. However, having her in his life brings nothing but trouble.

The Real Thing

2020

The Real Thing poster
6.5

Kazumichi Tsuji is a bored office worker in questionable relationships with two women at work. One day he meets the intriguing Ukiyo Hayama at a convenience store. However, having her in his life brings nothing but trouble.

The Real Thing

2020

A Girl Missing poster
6.5

Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she almost became a part of. While Ichiko cares for the grandmother, she is also a confidant to Motoko, the eldest sister. But one day, Motoko’s younger sister disappears. And the media soon reveal the kidnapper to be Ichiko’s own nephew.

A Girl Missing

2019

A Girl Missing poster
6.5

Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she almost became a part of. While Ichiko cares for the grandmother, she is also a confidant to Motoko, the eldest sister. But one day, Motoko’s younger sister disappears. And the media soon reveal the kidnapper to be Ichiko’s own nephew.

A Girl Missing

2019

The Man from the Sea poster
5.8

A man is found washed up on a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, suffering from amnesia and speaking in broken Indonesian and Japanese.

The Man from the Sea

2018

The Man from the Sea poster
5.8

A man is found washed up on a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, suffering from amnesia and speaking in broken Indonesian and Japanese.

The Man from the Sea

2018

Harmonium poster
6.5

Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.

Harmonium

2016

Harmonium poster
6.5

Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.

Harmonium

2016

Au revoir l'été poster
6.3

After failing her university entrance exam, Sakuko is invited by her aunt Mikie to spend summer vacation in a beautiful seaside town. Sakuko gets to know the people of the town, including Takashi, a shy relative of her childhood friend.

Au revoir l'été

2014

Au revoir l'été poster
6.3

After failing her university entrance exam, Sakuko is invited by her aunt Mikie to spend summer vacation in a beautiful seaside town. Sakuko gets to know the people of the town, including Takashi, a shy relative of her childhood friend.

Au revoir l'été

2014

Sayonara poster
5.4

The world's first human-android acting duo, called Android Theater Project, is the collaborative brainchild of noted Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata and the leading robotics scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. "Sayonara" is a remakable android play and has been adapted to feature film by the acclaimed filmmaker Koji Fukada (Hospitalité, Au revoir l’été). In this film project the setting of the story is largely expanded, depicting time and space in a way which can only be achieved in film, examining life and death though the communication between dying human and immortal android.

Sayonara

2015

Sayonara poster
5.4

The world's first human-android acting duo, called Android Theater Project, is the collaborative brainchild of noted Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata and the leading robotics scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. "Sayonara" is a remakable android play and has been adapted to feature film by the acclaimed filmmaker Koji Fukada (Hospitalité, Au revoir l’été). In this film project the setting of the story is largely expanded, depicting time and space in a way which can only be achieved in film, examining life and death though the communication between dying human and immortal android.

Sayonara

2015

Sayonara poster
5.4

The world's first human-android acting duo, called Android Theater Project, is the collaborative brainchild of noted Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata and the leading robotics scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. "Sayonara" is a remakable android play and has been adapted to feature film by the acclaimed filmmaker Koji Fukada (Hospitalité, Au revoir l’été). In this film project the setting of the story is largely expanded, depicting time and space in a way which can only be achieved in film, examining life and death though the communication between dying human and immortal android.

Sayonara

2015

Hospitalité poster
6.0

In this black comedy the lives of a timid small-time printer and his young wife are turned inside out by the arrival of a stranger who moves in and takes over their world. Set in a village-like outpost in the heart of Tokyo, this is a wry commentary on Japanese xenophobia. Kiki Sugino heads a spritely ensemble cast.

Hospitalité

2011

Hospitalité poster
6.0

In this black comedy the lives of a timid small-time printer and his young wife are turned inside out by the arrival of a stranger who moves in and takes over their world. Set in a village-like outpost in the heart of Tokyo, this is a wry commentary on Japanese xenophobia. Kiki Sugino heads a spritely ensemble cast.

Hospitalité

2011

Hospitalité 1.1 poster
NR

A stranger claiming to be the son of an old family benefactor insinuates himself into the home and business of a Tokyo printer. As he imposes his own rules and invites an ever-growing circle of guests, the family’s apparent harmony unravels, exposing hidden secrets and tensions. A re-edited director’s cut of Kōji Fukada’s Hospitalité (2010), prepared for and premiered at the 2013 Taipei Film Festival.

Hospitalité 1.1

2010

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Grateful

—

Inabe poster
6.7

After a 17-year absence, a pig farmer’s sister suddenly returns home with her baby. As they remember their childhood, they resolve to dig up “something” they buried long ago.

Inabe

2013

Inabe poster
6.7

After a 17-year absence, a pig farmer’s sister suddenly returns home with her baby. As they remember their childhood, they resolve to dig up “something” they buried long ago.

Inabe

2013

Human Comedy in Tokyo poster
5.5

'Human Comedy in Tokyo', describes ordinary everyday lives without any significant incidents. Various dialogues are elaborately woven to bring tiny splits in human relationships to light, and through the three episodes the characters have their moments of realizing that they are actually in solitude.

Human Comedy in Tokyo

2011

Human Comedy in Tokyo poster
5.5

'Human Comedy in Tokyo', describes ordinary everyday lives without any significant incidents. Various dialogues are elaborately woven to bring tiny splits in human relationships to light, and through the three episodes the characters have their moments of realizing that they are actually in solitude.

Human Comedy in Tokyo

2011

Birds (Working Title) poster
1.0

She insists she needs to know everything and be told the extent of it when a woman catches her husband kissing another woman at their apartment upon returning from the book store. It turns out the man invited the woman in promising to show her his birds.

Birds (Working Title)

2017

Birds (Working Title) poster
1.0

She insists she needs to know everything and be told the extent of it when a woman catches her husband kissing another woman at their apartment upon returning from the book store. It turns out the man invited the woman in promising to show her his birds.

Birds (Working Title)

2017

East of Jefferson poster
8.0

One rainy night, somewhere in the corner of the city, uncanny memories meet on a motel bed.

East of Jefferson

2018

East of Jefferson poster
8.0

One rainy night, somewhere in the corner of the city, uncanny memories meet on a motel bed.

East of Jefferson

2018

Chair poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chair

2004

Chair poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chair

2004

No artwork available
NR

"Roca" follows teenagers Roca, an aspiring fado singer, and Mino, the daughter of a small-time yakuza, who develop a close connection.

ROCA

—

La Grenadière poster
NR

The Japanese painter FUKAZAWA Takeshi expresses in pictures the novel written by Honoré de BALZAC “La grenadière”. Over 70 tempera paintings are beautifully brought to life and put together by FUKADA Koji for this Ga-nime that tells us the story of a mother and child in the 19th century, coated in a music that punctuates the whole experience. FUKAZAWA and FUKADA thus succeed in reproducing the ambiance of this mansion so dear to BALZAC, as the artistic pictures call to the imagination and the emotions of the viewer that only be so aroused by a Ga-nime.

La Grenadière

2006

La Grenadière poster
NR

The Japanese painter FUKAZAWA Takeshi expresses in pictures the novel written by Honoré de BALZAC “La grenadière”. Over 70 tempera paintings are beautifully brought to life and put together by FUKADA Koji for this Ga-nime that tells us the story of a mother and child in the 19th century, coated in a music that punctuates the whole experience. FUKAZAWA and FUKADA thus succeed in reproducing the ambiance of this mansion so dear to BALZAC, as the artistic pictures call to the imagination and the emotions of the viewer that only be so aroused by a Ga-nime.

La Grenadière

2006

The Yalta Conference Online poster
7.0

Just before the end of World War II, the Yalta Conference was held by the “Big Three” Allied leaders: Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Winston Churchill of Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the USSR. Japanese theater company Seinendan reimagines their conversations about postwar rule and power as a darkly humorous satire.

The Yalta Conference Online

2020

The Yalta Conference Online poster
7.0

Just before the end of World War II, the Yalta Conference was held by the “Big Three” Allied leaders: Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Winston Churchill of Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the USSR. Japanese theater company Seinendan reimagines their conversations about postwar rule and power as a darkly humorous satire.

The Yalta Conference Online

2020

The Yalta Conference Online poster
7.0

Just before the end of World War II, the Yalta Conference was held by the “Big Three” Allied leaders: Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Winston Churchill of Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the USSR. Japanese theater company Seinendan reimagines their conversations about postwar rule and power as a darkly humorous satire.

The Yalta Conference Online

2020