Kaneto Shindo

Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. He was one of the pioneers of independent film production in Japan, co-founding his own film company Kindai Eiga Kyōkai with director Kōzaburō Yoshimura and actor Taiji Tonoyama in 1950. He continued working as a screenwriter, director, and author until close to his death at the age of 100. His best known films as a director include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note. His screenplays were filmed by directors such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Seijun Suzuki, and Tadashi Imai. His films of the first decade were often in a social realist vein, repeatedly depicting the fate of women, while since the seventies, portraits of artists became a speciality. Many of his films were autobiographical, beginning with his 1951 directorial debut, Story of a Beloved Wife, and, being born in Hiroshima Prefecture, he also made several films about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the effect of nuclear weapons. His films are characterized by a humanistic and compassionate vision, a poetic and lyrical style, a minimalist and naturalistic approach, and a strong sense of social criticism and historical awareness. He was influenced by directors such as Sadao Yamanaka, Kenji Mizoguchi, Jean Renoir, and Sergei Eisenstein. He was also a prolific writer, publishing novels, essays, memoirs, and criticism. He received many awards and honors for his work, including the Order of the Rising Sun, the Japan Academy Prize, the Mainichi Film Award, the Kinema Junpo Award, and the Purple Ribbon Medal. He was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. He was married three times and had two sons, both of whom became film directors. He died in 2012 at his home in Hiroshima, Japan.