Mitsuyo Miyazaki, known as Hikari, is a Japanese writer, director and producer of film and television, best known for directing three episodes of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

'' in 2023''.''

Personal life

Originally from

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan, Hikari moved to the United States where she was a foreign exchange student in Utah at 17 years old which led her to move to LA to study film at University. She holds an MFA in film and TV production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. After graduating she moved to LA and tried working as an actor.

Career

Short films

Hikari released her first short film, ''Tsuyako'', in 2011. The film was shown at 100 film festivals worldwide, receiving 50 awards including Best Short Film and Best Screenplay. It was followed by ''A Better Tomorrow'' which premiered at the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and S ...

and ''Where We Begin'' which premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

in 2015. In 2019 she debuted ''

37 Seconds ''37 Seconds'' is a 2019 Japanese drama film written and directed by . The film features amateur actress Mei Kayama, who has cerebral palsy, as 23-year-old Yuma Takada, a talented artist who wants to make her name in manga. A sympathetic magazin ...

'' to critical acclaim at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. Hikari currently is set to direct the film adaptation of a drama/romance book called ''

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'' written by Rainbow Rowell.

Television

In 2023 she directed three episodes, including the pilot, of the comedy drama series ''

'' for

Awards

* DGA Student Award for the Best Female Filmmaker * Future Filmmakers Award and Audience Award at Palm Springs International Shortfest * Grand Jury Prizes at Oscar qualified film festivals. * Panorama Audience Award at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival (37 Seconds) *

International Confederation of Art Cinemas The International Confederation of Art Cinemas (CICAE, from French Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai) is an international non-profit association with address of record in Paris which tries to support and to promote ar ...

’ Art Cinema Award in the festival's Panorama section.

References

External links

*
Hikari at MUBI
{{Asian Film Award for Best New Director Japanese women film directors Japanese women screenwriters Japanese women film producers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Osaka Best New Director Asian Film Award winners 21st-century Japanese women writers