In 1997, when she became the youngest winner of the festival’s Camera d’Or for her movie, Suzaku at 27. Four of her following films competed for the top Palm d’Or at the festival: Shara, The Mourning Forest, Hanezu and Still the Water.

In 2015, Kawase was back with Sweet Bean (or An in Japanese). This is not the first time for Kawase for an award jury – in 2013, she shared the honor with Steven Spielberg at Cannes.

After being selected by Cannes this year, she said, “short films are exceptionally difficult, facing the question of how much of a story can be experienced in their short duration, while they also contain myriad possibilities yet unseen. And among movies created by students there will be the discovery of hidden brilliance like a gemstone, which makes me very much look forward to participating in this jury, a journey of adventure.”