
Director
Naomi Kawase
Born 1969 · Nara, Japan
Naomi Kawase (河瀨直美 Kawase Naomi, born May 30, 1969) is a Japanese film director. She graduated from Visual Arts Osaka in 1989. Many of her works have been documentaries, including Embracing, about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and Katatsumori, about the grandmother who raised her. Aside from being a filmmaker, she is the founder and Executive Director for the Nara International Film Festival.
Directed

Sweet Bean
Director · 2015

True Mothers
Director · 2020

Still the Water
Director · 2014

Radiance
Director · 2017

Suzaku
Director · 1997

The Mourning Forest
Director · 2007

Shara
Director · 2003

Katatsumori
Director · 1994

Lies
Director · 2016

Nanayo
Director · 2008

Hanezu
Director · 2012

Homemade
Director · 2020

Yakushima's Illusion
Director · 2025

Hikaru Utada: Sakura Nagashi
Director · 2012

Embracing
Director · 1992

Vision
Director · 2018
Cinematic Correspondences: Isaki Lacuesta - Naomi Kawase
Director · 2009

Birth/Mother
Director · 2006
Acting

Love & Pop
Woman speaking to Hiromi (voice) · 1998

Shara
Reiko · 2003

The Tale of Iya
Dr. Amamiya · 2013

Katatsumori
Self · 1994

It Stopped Raining
Koyomi's Mother · 2020

Rien ne s'efface
elle-même · 2008

Embracing
Self · 1992

Birth/Mother
Self · 2006

Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth
Self · 2001

Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
Self · 2014
Trace
Self · 2012

Sun on the Horizon
Self · 1996

Letter from a Yellow Cherry Blossom
Self · 2002

Amami
Self · 2016

Kaleidoscope
Self · 1999

See Heaven
Self · 1995
Memory of the Wind
Herself · 1995

Welcome Back For An Extracurricular Lesson, Sempai
Self · 1998

Women Make Films
Self · 2004
Writing

Sweet Bean
Screenplay · 2015

True Mothers
Screenplay · 2020

Still the Water
Screenplay · 2014

Radiance
Screenplay · 2017

Suzaku
Writer · 1997

The Mourning Forest
Screenplay · 2007

Shara
Writer · 2003

Katatsumori
Writer · 1994

Nanayo
Screenplay · 2008

Hanezu
Screenplay · 2012

Yakushima's Illusion
Writer · 2025

Embracing
Writer · 1992