Naomi Kawase was born in 1969, in Japan. In 1997, she became the youngest (aged 27) winner of the Camera d’Or at Festival de Cannes with her first feature Suzaku. Kawase became a Festival de Cannes favorite as she returned in 2003 with her third feature Shara and in 2007 ,with her 4th feature The Mourning Forest (2007), which received the Grand Prix and which will be screened at Cyprus Film Days this season. Kawase’s Hanezu (2011), Still the Water (2014) and An (2015) also premiered at Cannes.