KITAMURA Ryuhei

Kitamura was born in Osaka, Japan. He dropped out of high school at age 17 and relocated to Sydney, Australia. His first feature-length films Heat After Dark and Down to Hell were successful in film festivals, and he soon found his first mainstream success with the cult film Versus In 2003, he directed a feature film adaptation of the manga Azumi, and directed 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, the 28th installment in the renowned kaiju franchise. In 2008, Kitamura made his American filmmaking debut with Midnight Meat Train based on Clive Barker's short horror story of the same name. He is currently working with Lupin III, a modern adaptation of the iconic manga by Monkey Punch.