Hiro Murai
Hiro Murai is a Japanese-born American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His most notable works include internationally successful music videos for artists such as Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt, Chet Faker, Flying Lotus, David Guetta, St. Vincent, The Shins, The Fray, Bloc Party and Queens of the Stone Age. In 2013, he directed the short film Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a companion piece for Childish Gambino's second studio album, Because the Internet, and its attached screenplay. In the same year, he created a multi-panel video set for Frank Ocean's performance at the Grammys.
In 2016, he directed several episodes of the comedy-drama Atlanta, collaborating again with Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. For his work on the show, he has received three nominations for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. In the same year, he directed a Nike campaign starring Chance The Rapper.
On February 10, 2019, the music video for Childish Gambino's "This Is America", directed by Murai, won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
In November 2018, the trailer for his debut feature film Guava Island starring Donald Glover and Rihanna premiered at the Pharos Festival in New Zealand as he collaborated with Donald Glover once again. Guava Island was released on April 13, 2019, by Amazon Studios through Amazon Prime Video. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 26 critics, with an average rating of 6.46/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Early life and education
Murai was born to Japanese popular music composer Kunihiko Murai. He moved to Los Angeles when he was nine years old and later graduated with a degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.After graduation, Murai turned to freelance work as the director of photography for numerous music videos, as well as VFX and storyboarding, most notably for Ace Norton. After some time Murai began to direct low budget films.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credits | Notes | Ref |
| 2019 | Guava Island | Director | Stars Donald Glover & Rihanna |
Awards
- MVPA Award for Best Video under $25K. The Fray "Heartless"
- Best Music Video Lists: Pitchfork / BuzzFeed / Consequence of Sound / Video Static / Co.Create / NPR Music - for St. Vincent "Cheerleader" and Earl Sweatshirt "Chum"
- MVPA Best Electronic Video: David Guetta - "She Wolf"
- UKMVA Director of the Year / Best Rock / Indie Video International QOTSA for Smooth Sailing.
- Best Music Videos Lists: The Verge, Pitchfork, IMVDB, Stereogum
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction: Childish Gambino - "This Is America"
- Grammy Award for Best Music Video: Childish Gambino - "This Is America"