Kazutaka Watanabe
Biography
Kazutaka Watanabe was born in Fuji, Shizuoka in 1969. Watanabe was an avid manga reader and also enjoyed watching TV series and movies alike. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo and by his own admission spent more time watching movies at the theater than attending classes. He graduated from university in 1991.
Watanabe then entered the NHK public broadcaster, spending the first few years on various programs, conducting interviews or working on the NHK Nodo Jiman program as per company policy. In 1995, Watanabe finally entered NHK's drama division. From that point on, Watanabe worked as a director and producer for various drama series such as Churasan in 1988, Ryōmaden in 2010, Mare in 2015 and Naotora: The Lady Warlord in 2017.[1]
In 2022, he founded the video production company CLUTBLAN with cinematographer Go Yamatoya and started working within it as a director.
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
In 2020, Watanabe began working on the TV Drama Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan as director, to critical acclaim as the series won the monthly Galaxy Award for the TV show category in January 2021.[2] The series was continued over three seasons.
Watanabe continued his work by directing the Rohan au Louvre film which was a relative financial success with 900,000 attendees and more than 1.25 billion yen in box office revenue, the latter which is a milestone which was never reached by a NHK film adaptation of a drama.[3]
Style
As a director, Watanabe has a spontaneous style which allows improvisation, which by his own word follows the principle of "not to kill the atmosphere, not to stop the acting, not to follow the plan, but to try what comes to mind on the spot." He cites his work on Crime Scene (刑事の現場, Keiji no genba)'s second "night" as a pivotal moment when he established the foundations of his style.
Among his influences, Watanabe cites the French New Wave, notably Jean-Luc Godard's work, as well as the work of filmmaker Seijun Suzuki.[1]
Roles
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan | TV Drama | 2020-2024 |
| Rohan au Louvre | Film | 2023 |
| At a Confessional | Film | 2025 |
Interviews
| # | Interview | Type | Media | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazutaka Watanabe (December 2022) | Interview |
Magazine |
December 19, 2022 |
| 2 | Kazutaka Watanabe x Otocoto (May 2023) | Interview |
Website/Online |
May 27, 2023 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.creativevillage.ne.jp/category/topcreators/visual-creators/135115/
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2185023/full/
- ↑ Vish (April 1, 2024), "Rohan au Louvre Blu-ray and DVD Releases in July 2024", JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia.
