Dai SAKO 佐向大

教誨師

The Chaplain

Nippon Visions   ½ 

Thou shalt not kill, says the Bible. But does this commandment apply to the state as well? Prison chaplain Saeki regularly visits death row inmates, which leads him to reflect upon his own weaknesses. Dai SAKO presents an impressive chamber play about one of the taboo topics of the Japanese justice system, the death sentence. Actor Ren OSUGI, who passed away in 2018, gives his last brilliant performance.

Related Events:
The Chaplain (NC 2019)

教誨師
Kyokaishi

日本 2018

114 分

監督
佐向大

脚本
佐向大

撮影
Tatsuya YAMADA

About 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.