| Sachi Hamano | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sachiko Suzuki March 19, 1948 Tokushima Prefecture, Japan |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1971 – |
| Website | |
| http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~tantan-s/ | |
Sachi Hamano (浜野佐知 Hamano Sachi) aka Sachiko Hamano (浜野佐知子 Hamano Sachiko) and Chise Matoba (的場ちせ Matoba Chise), is a Japanese film director. She is the most prolific and written-about female pink film director.[1]
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Sachi Hamano was born as Sachiko Suzuki in Tokushima Prefecture on March 19, 1948.[1][2] While in high school, Hamano decided she wanted to become a film director.[3] She studied photography for a while in college in Tokyo, then quit to work in film.[1]
Though the film industry was male-dominated and reluctant to hire a female director, Hamano was able to begin working as an assistant director at independent studios beginning in 1968.[3] Early in her career, at the advice of film producers, Hamano dropped the feminine "ko" ending from her name, Sachiko.[1] She has also used the name Chise Matoba for directing credits.[5] She worked for a while at Kōji Wakamatsu's Wakamatsu Pro, then for other major pink film directors including Genji Nakamura.[1] She made her debut as a director in 1971, with Million Film in 17-Year-Old Free Love Tribe (17才好き好き族) (released 1972).[1][3][6]
With the goal of making films from a woman's perspective, in 1984, Hamano founded her own film production company, Tantansha.[3] As a producer and director, she has released over 300 films.[3] For ENK, Hamano filmed the 1990 gay pink film Blazing Men.[7] Her 1997 film, Whore Hospital was given Honorable Mention at the Pink Grand Prix.[8] In 1998, with the financial support of over 12,000 donations from women throughout Japan, she made the film, In Search of a Lost Writer: Wandering the World of the Seventh Sense (第七官界彷徨－尾崎翠を探して), based on the life and work of the female author, Midori Osaki.[3] The film was given the Amari Hayashi Prize at the 2000 Japanese Independent Film Festival.[2]
In 2001 she filmed Lily Festival (2001), based on Hoko Momotani's novel about sexuality among senior citizens.[3] The film was given the Best Feature Film award at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in 2003.[9][10] In 2006, Hamano returned to Midori Osaki, filming The Cricket Girl, based on one of Osaki's novels.[3] Hamano published her autobiography, When a Woman Makes a Film in 2005.[11]