Walker Art Center Welcomes Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi for Retrospective and In-Person Conversation
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: Effect and Cause features acclaimed films, a dialogue with Toronto International Film Festival curator Andréa Picard, and a rare live performance by composer Eiko Ishibashi
The Walker Art Center presents Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: Effect and Cause, a retrospective of one of contemporary cinema’s most inventive and acclaimed filmmakers. The series opens on October 23 with a rare in-person conversation in the Walker Cinema between the Academy Award–winning Japanese filmmaker and Toronto International Film Festival curator Andréa Picard. Screenings continue through November 7.
The retrospective spans more than a decade of Hamaguchi’s work, including his international breakthrough, the five-hour ensemble drama Happy Hour (2015), Drive My Car (2021), winner of the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and Evil Does Not Exist (2023), recipient of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Known for his emotionally intricate character studies, extensive table reads, and distinctive acting workshop methods, Hamaguchi creates films that combine elements of fiction and documentary practice. Drawing inspiration from filmmakers including Éric Rohmer and John Cassavetes, his work explores the complexities of intimacy, performance, chance, grief, desire, and human connection.
The Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: Effect and Cause series will be kicked off by a dialogue between Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and Toronto International Film Festival curator Andréa Picard for a deep dive into the filmmaker’s explorative play with documentary and fiction. This event is a continuation of the Walker’s longstanding Dialogue series (formerly known as the Regis Dialogues) that features filmmakers and actors at pivotal points in their career. Past Dialogue participants have included Robert Redford, Boon Joon Ho, Steve McQueen and Christopher Nolan. Many of these conversations are available to view on the Walker’s official YouTube channel.
“Over the last decade, Hamaguchi has built a unique and critically acclaimed body of work, establishing himself as one of the most significant figures in Japanese cinema of his generation.” said Moving Image Director Pablo de Ocampo “His films, which delve deep into the complexities of human relations with a restrained style, have garnered accolades and awards internationally. Adding the rich legacy of film luminaries that have been recognized in the Walker Dialogue program, this is a unique and special opportunity for film-going audiences in the Twin Cities to catch a rising star of contemporary world cinema.”
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: Effect and Cause is co-presented with the Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with support from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment in Asian Studies and the Pohlad Family Community Engagement Fund.
Walker Dialogue: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi with Andréa Picard
October 23, 7 pm
Walker Cinema
Join Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and Toronto International Film Festival curator Andréa Picard for a deep dive into the filmmaker’s explorative play with documentary and fiction, library of literary references, and deep love for cinema.
Happy Hour
October 24, 1 pm
Walker Cinema
With attention to intricate character details, this five-hour saga immerses audiences in the experiences of four women navigating life’s transitions.
Drive My Car
October 29, 7 pm
Walker Cinema
Filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi introduces his Oscar-winning road epic of love, loss, and the resonances of emotional candor.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
October 30, 7 pm
Walker Cinema
This three-part anthology reveals the rigors of chance and choice in a tour de force of human obsession and desire.
Evil Does Not Exist
November 6, 7 pm
Walker Cinema
The threat of urbanizing development reveals the interpersonal depth and human folly of residents of a small Japanese mountain village.
GIFT: A Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi X Film by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
November 7, 7 pm
Copresented with The Cedar
Composer Eiko Ishibashi performs live her score to this multimedia collaboration created with Ryūsuke Hamaguchi.
About Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
Director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi graduated from the University of Tokyo in 2003 and the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2008. His early films include The Depths (2010), the Tōhoku Documentary Trilogy, and Touching the Skin of Eeriness (2013). Hamaguchi gained international recognition with Happy Hour (2015) which received Special Mention for the screenplay at the Locarno International Film Festival. He then followed with Asako I & II (2018) which was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, he released two films, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and Drive My Car. At Cannes, Drive My Car received the award for Best Screenplay. At the Academy Awards, the film won Best International Feature Film. In addition, Hamaguchi was nominated for Best Director, and the film was the first Japanese production to be nominated for Best Picture. Hamaguchi released Evil Does Not Exist in 2023, which also received widespread critical acclaim winning the Grand Jury Prize at Venice. He followed that same year with Gift, accompanied by a live score by composer Eiko Ishibashi. Hamaguchi’s most recent film, All of a Sudden, premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
About Andréa Picard
Andréa Picard is a film curator and writer specializing in the intersections of film and contemporary art. She studied art history, cinema studies, and French literature at the University of Toronto and, later, at the École du Louvre in Paris. She has worked at TIFF since 1999 in a multitude of roles and is presently Senior Curator of Film for the Festival and Cinematheque, overseeing the Wavelengths section and curating retrospectives. She was the Artistic Director of the 40th edition of Cinéma du Réel at the Centre Pompidou, where she edited the monograph “What is Real?” with contributions from some of today’s most important filmmakers. Her writing has regularly appeared in Cinema Scope magazine and other publications such as Artforum, Sight & Sound, Mousse, MUBI ,and Phaidon. She has curated exhibitions internationally and is an advisor to the Marrakech International Film Festival. In 2024, she received the Chevalier of the Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture.
About the Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 16,000 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection.
Acknowledgments
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Thank you, Walker members, for your generous support.