Kei Kumai

Biography

Kei Kumai (熊井 啓, Kumai Kei, 1 June 1930 – 23 May 2007) was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his first film, Nihon rettō, in 1965.[2] His 1972 film Shinobu Kawa was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.[3] His 1973 film Rise, Fair Sun was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. Sandakan No. 8 received widespread acclaim for tackling the issue of a woman forced into prostitution in Borneo before the outbreak of World War II. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards.

Directed

1. The Sea Is Watching (2002) — Director
2. Sandakan No. 8 (1974) — Director
3. The Sea and Poison (1986) — Director
4. Death of a Tea Master (1989) — Director
5. The Long Darkness (1972) — Director
6. The Sands of Kurobe (1968) — Director
7. Luminous Moss (1992) — Director
8. Love and Faith (1978) — Director
9. A Chain of Islands (1965) — Director
10. Deep River (1995) — Director
11. Apart from Life (1970) — Director
12. Willful Murder (1981) — Director
13. To Love (1997) — Director
14. Darkness in the Light (2001) — Director
15. Shikibu monogatari (1990) — Director
16. Cape of the North (1976) — Director
17. Rise, Fair Sun (1973) — Director
18. An Ocean to Cross (1980) — Director
19. The Long Death (1964) — Director
20. Fantasia (1973) — Director

Also appeared in

1. What's a Director? (2006)