After life, by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Trapped between heaven and earth, the recently deceased are received by a series of guides who help them to examine their memories and relive a decisive moment in their lives. All 22 characters have to choose one such moment to be recreated on film for them to take to heaven.

Hirokazu Kore-eda (Tokyo, 1962) graduated from Waseda University in 1987. In 1995 he filmed his first feature, Maborosi, based on the novel by Teru Miyamoto and winner of the Golden Osella Award at the Venice Film Festival. His next film, After Life (1998), was released in more than 30 countries and made his name on the international scene. In 2001, Distance was selected for the Cannes Festival. In 2004, the actor of Nobody Knows, his next film, became the youngest actor to win the Best Male Actor Award at Cannes. In 2006 he directed his first period film Hana, which revolves around violence. In 2008 he released Still Walking, which gained wide international acclaim and won several awards in Europe and Asia. In 2009 he filmed the innovative Air Doll, which premiered at Cannes and was praised for crossing boundaries in its description of a sensual fantasy love story. In 2011, I Wish won the Best Screenplay Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival. In 2012 Kore-eda made his television debut with the series Going My Home, and in 2013 the film Like Father, Like Son won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the People’s Choice Award in San Sebastián, Vancouver and São Paulo, as well as beating the box office takings of his previous films in numerous countries. In 2017, The Third Murder was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. And in 2018, Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Film at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards and the César Awards.