Yōichi Sai

Biography

Yōichi Sai (born 6 July 1949 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan) was a Japanese film director. His mother is Japanese, His father is zainichi Korean. His 2004 film Chi to hone won four Japanese Academy Awards, including two for Sai himself, for Best Director and Best Screenplay. He had previously received two nominations in the same categories for Tsuki wa dotchi ni dete iru. In 1999 he shot Buta no mukui (The Pig's Retribution), a film set in the lavish natural scenery of Okinawa, inspired by the 1996 Akutagawa Prize-winning eponymous novel by Eiki Matayoshi. The film won the Don Quixote prize at Locarno International Film Festival in 1999. He won the award for Best Screenplay at the 11th Yokohama Film Festival for A Sign Days. As an actor, he appeared in Nagisa Oshima's 1999 film Taboo. He is the current president of the Directors Guild of Japan.

Directed

1. Blood and Bones (2004) — Director
2. Kamui (2009) — Director
3. Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (2004) — Director
4. Soo (2007) — Director
5. Doing Time (2002) — Director
6. The Mosquito on the Tenth Floor (1983) — Director
7. All Under the Moon (1993) — Director
8. The Pig's Retribution (1999) — Director
9. MARKS (1995) — Director
10. Via Okinawa (1989) — Director
11. The Lady in a Black Dress (1987) — Director
12. Let Him Rest in Peace (1985) — Director
13. The Glorious Asuka Gang! (1988) — Director
14. Someday, Someone Will Be Killed (1984) — Director
15. Dansen (1983) — Director
16. Sexual Crime (1983) — Director
17. Burning Dog (1991) — Director
18. Heisei Irresponsible Family: Tokyo de Luxe (1995) — Director
19. Dog Race (1998) — Director
20. The Short Films: We Were All Once Children (2008) — Director
21. Love Story (1986) — Director
22. 優作について私が知っている二、三の事柄 (2022) — Director
23. CLUB DEJA-VU ONE NIGHT SHOW 松田優作・メモリアル・ライブ (2022) — Director
24. Pro Hunter (1981) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Taboo (1999) — Isami Kondo
2. The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995) — Chief of Police
3. All Under the Moon (1993) — Section Chief
4. Route 225 (2006)
5. N45゜ (1994) — Bearded man
6. In the Realm of the Senses: Recalling the Film (2003) — Self - Interviewee
7. Empire of Passion: On the Set — Self (Assistant Director for "Empire of Passion")