Working as an assistant to Hirokazu Kore-eda for seven years, Hirose was able to undertake the kind of comprehensive apprenticeship that has disappeared from Japan’s major studios. Her debut, His Lost Name, won a special jury prize at 2018’s Tokyo Filmex fest, where it was called "a perfectly written and executed family drama."

This story first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter's May 14 daily issue from the Cannes Film Festival.