Claude Gagnon (born 18 December 1949) is aCanadian filmmaker and actor, who frequently works in both Canada andJapan.^[1][2]

AQuebec native, Gagnon first came to Japan in 1970 as photojournalist coveringExpo '70 inOsaka. He met his wife,ballerina-turned-filmmaker Yuri Yoshimura, whom he married in 1973.

"My original plan was to spend six months in Japan, and then to go to Indonesia before heading to Europe. I thought I’d do my little trip like everyone else did in those days. But after six months I still didn’t understand a thing. There were very few foreigners living in Japan in those days, and I remember that if you saw a Westerner in Kyoto, you’d crossed the road to say hi and trade phone numbers. It was the era of “Peace and Love”‒‒euphoric and stimulating."^[2]

Gagnon's introduction to the film industry was as an actor, notably playing a villain in theSonny Chiba martial arts filmReturn of the Street Fighter (1974).

He made his directorial debut with 1979'sKeiko, aneorealist-inspired lesbian-themed drama. The film was a popular success and earned Gagnon theDirectors Guild of Japan New Directors Award,^[3] the first foreign-born filmmaker to do so.

• Claude Gagnon atIMDb

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