Genki Kawamura is a Japanese film producer, novelist, picture book author, film director, and screenwriter. He was born on March 12, 1979, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the Department of Journalism at Sophia University before joining the film production company Toho in 2001, where he has worked in the Film Planning Department.

Kawamura first gained prominence as a producer of live-action films, including the commercially successful The Electric Train Man (2005), as well as acclaimed works like Confessions (2010) and Villain (2010). In 2011, he became the youngest recipient of the Fujimoto Award, a prize given to outstanding film producers.

As an original creator, Kawamura has worked extensively across the anime and manga-adjacent fields, though he is not a manga artist himself. He is the author of several picture books that have been adapted into animated works. In 2013, he published the picture book Tinny: The Story of a Balloon Dog (ティニー ふうせんいぬのものがたり), created in collaboration with illustrator Kenjiro Sano. This book was adapted into the anime series Fūsen Inu Tinny, which also received a film sequel titled Fūsen Inu Tinny: Nandaka Fushigi na Kyōryū no Kuni, for which he is credited as an original creator. In 2014, he published another picture book, Muumu (ムーム), with illustrator Yuki Masuko, which was also adapted into an animated film that went on to win over thirty international awards.

Beyond his picture books, Kawamura has had a significant career as a novelist. His debut novel, If Cats Disappeared from the World (2012), was an international bestseller and was adapted into a live-action film. He has also written the novels Million Dollar Man, April Come She Will, and Hundred Flowers. He frequently adapts his own literary works for the screen; he wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of If Cats Disappeared from the World and both wrote and directed the film adaptation of his novel Hundred Flowers, a project for which he won the Silver Shell for Best Director at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival.

As a producer, Kawamura is a central figure in modern Japanese animation. He has produced numerous landmark anime films, including Hosoda Mamoru’s Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018), and Belle (2021). He has also served as the producer or planner for Shinkai Makoto’s your name. (2016), Weathering With You (2019), and Suzume (2022). In addition, he wrote the screenplays for the Doraemon films Doraemon: Nobita’s Treasure Island (2018) and Doraemon: Nobita’s New Dinosaur (2020).

Kawamura’s artistic identity is defined by a deep exploration of memory, loss, and human connection. His works, whether novels about confronting death or films about the bonds between parents and children, consistently examine how people process grief and find meaning in relationships. This thematic focus is evident in his producer role on films like Wolf Children, his novel If Cats Disappeared from the World, and his directorial work on Hundred Flowers, which centers on a man caring for his mother with dementia.

His industry significance is immense. He has been instrumental in shaping the modern Japanese film landscape, both live-action and animated, by identifying and nurturing the work of major directors. His ability to move fluidly between roles as a producer, novelist, screenwriter, and director, while maintaining a distinct creative voice across all of them, makes him a unique and powerful force in Japanese entertainment. In 2025, his second feature film as a director, Exit 8, was officially selected for the Midnight Screenings section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, further cementing his international reputation.