熊切和嘉

Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (b. 1974, Obihiro, Japan) numbers among the top talents trained for the Japanese film industry by the Osaka University of Arts. His graduation film served as his debut feature: Banquet of the Beasts (Kichiku dai enkai, 1997). This provocative meditation, shot along the lines of exploitation cinema with underground overtones, was screened at a number of international festivals, then released in foreign distribution. Although the film was also a success in Japan, it took four years before the director came out with his second feature, Hole in the Sky (Sora no ana, 2001). As a rule, Kumakiri develops motifs involving outsiders, isolation, and the condensed actions of people in critical situations. This holds true for both his own projects and those he makes as a director-for-hire, e.g. the melancholy, action sci-fi flick Freesia: Bullets Over Tears (Furiijia, 2007).

MFF Karlovy Vary