Kaneto Shindo

Kaneto Shindo, 新藤 兼人

(22 April 1912 – 29 May 2012) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and author. He directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note. His scripts were filmed by such directors as Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasuzo Masumura Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Seijun Suzuki, Fumio Kamei, and Tadashi Imai.

Shindo was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, and he made several films about Hiroshima and the atomic bomb. Like his early mentor Kenji Mizoguchi, many of his films feature strong female characters. He was a pioneer of independent film production in Japan, founding a company called Kindai Eiga Kyokai. He continued working as a scriptwriter, director and author until his death at the age of 100.

Shindo made a series of autobiographical films, beginning with the first film he directed, 1951's Story of a Beloved Wife, about his struggle to become a screenwriter, through 1986's Tree Without Leaves, about his childhood, born into a wealthy family which became destitute, 2000's By Player, about his film company, seen through the eyes of his friend Taiji Tonoyama, and his last film, Postcard, directed at the age of 98, loosely based on his military service.

Source: Wikipedia