Sion Sono

is a controversial Japanese filmmaker and poet. He was born in Toyokawa, Aichi, Japan, and is best known for his films as well as avant-garde poetry performances.

Early career

Sono began his career as a poet in 1978 when he was only 17 years old. His poems appeared in popular Japanese publications such as The Modern Poem Book. Afterwards, he enrolled in Hosei University, but left school in mid-course and began making 8 mm films. In 1985, he debuted in the PIA Film Festival with a 30-min experimental short movie, I Am Sion Sono!! (Ore wa Sion Sono da!!), a selection of his poetry being read by him on the screen. In 1987, he participated with the movie A Man's Hanamichi (Otoko no Hanamichi), and won the Grand Prize.

Feature filmmaker

After receiving a fellowship with the PIA, Sono made his first feature-length 16&nbsp;mm film in 1990, Bicycle Sighs (Jitensha Toiki), which he co-wrote, directed, and starred himself. A coming-of-age tale about two underachievers in the perfectionist Japan, Bicycle Sighs settled Sono as a director with great box office success in Japan, and for nearly two years was played over 30 film festivals around Europe and Asia.<!-- Deleted image removed: -->In 1992, Sono's second feature film The Room (Heya), also written by himself, a bizarre tale about a serial killer looking for a room in a bleak, doomed Tokyo district, participated at the Tokyo Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize. The Room also toured on 49...
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