Comedian Matsumoto Hitoshi (43) is off to a good start as a movie director. His directorial debut “Dai Nihonjin” isn’t due for release until June 2 but it has been invited to this month’s 60th Cannes International Film Festival. According to distributor Phantom Film, it will air during Director’s Week and will be eligible for the Camera d’Or prize for best first feature film. The festival will be held from May 16-27 and Matsumoto is planning to attend. In keeping with his multi-talented reputation (he has written several best-selling books), Matsumoto also stars in the movie and co-wrote the screenplay. Though details about the movie are being kept under wraps, the debut feature will inevitably be compared with the work of Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (60). Especially as his latest, “Kantoku Banzai”, is scheduled to open on the same day as “Dai Nihonjin”. Also one of Japan’s top comedians, Takeshi turned to the world of movies some years ago and has garnered worldwide acclaim for his varied body of work. He may well be in Cannes this year as he is Japan’s representative in a compilation movie of 3-minute segments by 35 of the world’s top directors.
Matsumoto said at a press conference in January, when asked to describe his movie, “I definitely don’t think it’s the kind of work that will be winning prizes at Cannes!” But Cannes artistic director Olivier Pere described it as a “comedy masterpiece” that takes a totally unique approach to mixing fantasy and documentary, adding that he’d already watched it four times!