Biography

Sion Sono

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Shion Sono is a Japanese director, writer and poet. Born in Aichi Perfecture in 1961 he started his career working as a poet before taking his first steps in film directing. As a student he shot a series of short films in Super 8 and managed to make his first feature films in the late 80s and early 90s, in which he also starred. The film that helped him reach a wider international audience and establish himself as a cult director is Love Exposure (2008) , released in 2008. Ai no mukidashi is the first installment of Sono's Trilogy of Hate followed by Cold Fish (2010) and concluded with Guilty of Romance (2011). The films of Shion Sono often tell the stories of socially marginalized teenagers or young adults who end up engaging in activities that involve murders, sexual abuse and criminal behavior. Sono's films in most of the cases contain scenes filled with graphic violence and blood that echo the long pinku eiga and anime tradition of Japanese cinema.
- IMDb mini biography by: mel-piruski-1990

He was admitted to Berkeley University where he stayed for 15 months. However he never studied there as he was spending his time watching films.
He likes the films of John Cassavetes and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
He loves Mahler, Beethoven and Mozart.
Sono's wife, actress Megumi Kagurazaka, gave birth to their first child on 2 February 2020.
Suffered a heart attack on 7 February 2019 at his Shinjuku, Tokyo residence.

Japanese movies - almost all I don't like. I don't like. Because almost all Japanese movies are love drama, crying drama, and...sickness movie.
I try not to listen to any of the feedback for each of my films - I close my ears to it. I don't want to be swayed by that. I'm always thinking, "I just make the films I want to make. Shut up!"
He is too much of a 'god' in Japanese movie history, and the history can not be refreshed unless we become anti-Ozu. I have nothing personal against him, but I have to declare I am anti-Ozu in order to move forward. [When asked about his dislike of Yasujirō Ozu]
All I can say is... if you're trying to compete with Hollywood, you're already losing. I think tokusatsu is the only thing that can stand on the same playing field as Hollywood. Maximizing tokusatsu is the wise way to go, not chasing Hollywood. [On the future of tokusatsu (Japanese special effects)]

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