Dai SAKO
佐向大
Dai SAKO, born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1971, studied at Seijo University and began his career as a screenwriter. Starting in 1995, he worked as a director for various independently produced short and feature films. His first commercial success was RUNNING ON EMPTY (2009), which was screened at numerous international festivals. In the following years he wrote multiple screenplays before returning to the director’s chair in 2018 with THE CHAPLAIN (NC ‘19). PRINCIPAL EXAMINATION had its world premiere in 2025 at Nippon Connection.
Films shown at Nippon Connection
PRINCIPAL EXAMINATION,
Japan 2025 (Director)
NC25
PRINCIPAL EXAMINATION,
Japan 2025 (Script)
NC25
The Chaplain,
Japan 2018 (Director)
NC19
The Chaplain,
Japan 2018 (Script)
NC19
Abraxas,
Japan 2010 (Script)
NC11
Vacation,
Japan 2008 (Script)
NC09
Guest at Nippon Connection
The Chaplain, NC19
PRINCIPAL EXAMINATION, NC25