MATSUMOTO Hitoshi (1963, Japan) debuted as an actor in 1983 in the television comedy Downtown. Since 1990, he has appeared in numerous popular television comedies. In 1998, he published Visualbum, a collection of stories. His directing debut Dainipponjin, in which he also stars as an actor, and its follow-up Symbol were also screened at IFFR.

Matsumoto Hitoshi

Games can be dangerous. Director Matsumoto (Dainipponjin/Symbol) has certainly proven he can go further with Japanese absurdism, but can he stay unflappable when the game gets out of control? Find out that SM involves more than latex and whips. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.

IFFR 2014

R100, 

Spectrum

R100

Some films can best be described by the word incomparable. 'The big Japanese', because that's what the title means, is a fake documentary about a typical Japanese underachiever who has to work hard to save Japan from monsters: live on television and with plummeting ratings... seeing is believing.

IFFR 2008

Dainipponjin, 

Rotterdämmerung

Dainipponjin

Surrealist comedy by the director of the cult film Dainipponjin could only have been made in Japan. A sad comic wakes up in a closed white room - or is he still asleep? In the meantime a Mexican wrestler prepares for an important contest.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Matsumoto Hitoshi

Filmography

Matsumoto Hitoshi at IFFR

Dainipponjin

Symbol

R100