was a Japanese
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...
. He directed 13 films between 1980 and 2000.
Career and style
His film ''
Moving'' was screened in the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section at the
1993 Cannes Film Festival
The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to '' Farewell My Concubine'' by Chen Kaige and '' The Piano'' by Jane Campion.
The festival opened with ''My Favorite Season'', directed by André Téchiné and c ...
.
His 1998 film, ''
Wait and See'', won the
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
prize at the
49th Berlin International Film Festival
The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with '' Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by ...
in 1999.
The
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
artistic director Chris Fujiwara noted that American film director
Nicholas Ray and French film director
Jean Vigo
Jean Vigo (; 26 April 1905 – 5 October 1934) was a French film director who helped establish poetic realism in film in the 1930s. His work influenced French New Wave cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Biography
Vigo was born to Emil ...
shared Somai's sensibilities.
Filmography
* ''
Tonda Couple
is a shōnen manga series by Kimio Yanagisawa. It won the 1979 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen. It was adapted into a 1980 film directed by Shinji Sōmai and starring Shingo Tsurumi and Hiroko Yakushimaru.
Cast
*Shingo Tsurumi
* Hiroko ...
'' (1980)
* ''
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981)
* ''P.P. Rider'' (1983)
* ''
The Catch'' (1983)
* ''
Love Hotel
A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual activities. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, which was built in 1968 and had a rotating ...
'' (1985)
* ''
Typhoon Club'' (1985)
* ''Lost Chapter of Snow: Passion'' (1985)
* ''Luminous Woman'' (1987)
* ''Tokyo Heaven'' (1990)
* ''
Moving'' (1993)
* ''The Friends'' (1994)
* ''
Wait and See'' (1998)
* ''Kaza-hana'' (2000)
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somai, Shinji
1948 births
2001 deaths
Japanese film directors
Deaths from lung cancer in Japan
People from Morioka, Iwate
People from Isehara, Kanagawa