Sang-il Lee (director)

Sang-il Lee (Japanese: 李 相日, Hepburn: Ri San'iru; Korean: 이상일, born January 6, 1974) is a film director based in Japan. He is a third-generation Zainichi Korean born in Niigata and raised in Yokohama, Japan. His films often explore human conflict and societal issues. He has received multiple awards at the Japan Academy Film Prize, including Picture of the Year and Director of the Year.

Lee began his career with his graduation project from the Japan Institute of the Moving Image, Blue – Chong (1999). The coming-of-age film, featuring a main character who attends a North Korean-affiliated high school mirroring Lee's own background, won four awards including the Grand Prize at the 2000 Pia Film Festival (PFF). His 2006 film Hula Girls, which depicts coal miners' daughters saving their declining town through hula dancing, won Best Picture and Best Director at the Japan Academy Film Prize, and was selected as Japan's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards.

He subsequently directed adaptations of Shuichi Yoshida's novels. Villain (2010), which depicts the aftermath of a murder, and Rage (2016), an ensemble drama exploring suspicion and trust, both received numerous Japan Academy nominations and acting awards. In addition to directing a Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (2013) and the kidnapping drama The Wandering Moon (2022), Lee directed his third Yoshida adaptation, Kokuho (2025). The film, which depicts the lives of kabuki actors, grossed over 20.34 billion yen, surpassing Bayside Shakedown 2 to become the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film in history. It won 10 categories at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize and earned a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 98th Academy Awards.

In 2025, Lee received the Akira Kurosawa Award at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. The following year, he was awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, as well as the Japan Art Academy Prize.