Kaizo Hayashi was born in Kyoto in 1957. In 1986, he wrote , directed and produced his first feature TO SLEEP SO AS TO DREAM which won the Mainichi Cinema Concours Spo-Nichi Grand Prix as the best new director. He also received an international reputation, winning a top prize at Bludenz International Film Festival, Austria. In 1989, his next feature A BOYS PRIMER FOR THE 20TH CENTURY received Charlie Chaplin's Award at Edinburgh International Film Festival and gained him higher recognition both in Japan and overseas.

He has continued to achieve success with his wealth of unconventional ideas. In 1991 he wrote and directed MAN ON THE MOON, and the Tokyo segment of the off-beat France/Japan/US anthology co-production FIGARO STORY (1991). He also produced ASIAN BEAT (1991), which linked six Asian nations and starred Masatoshi Nagase. His other well known films are Maiku Hama Private Eye trilogy (1993-95), BREATH(1996), and CAT'S EYE (1997) based on the popular Japanese manga.

The three part Maiku Hama series - THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE, THE STAIRWAY TO THE DISTANT PAST, and THE TRAP - were major hits, and have even been cited as sparking a flurry of interest among young people in the private investigation profession. All three of the Maiku Hama films have already premiered at San Francisco International Film Festival.

His recent films include a 16mm short, OTOME NO INORI (1998), and a feature film LOST ANGELS (2000). He has also directed a video game for PlayStation, "ZIPANG" as well as the same titled film he directed before.

He is currently living in Los Angeles, and is developing his first English language film project which will shoot entirely in San Francisco next Summer.

© 2000 Viz Films/Tidepoint Pictures