Sachi Hamano

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) (born March 19, 1948), is a Japanese film director. She is the most prolific and written-about female pink film director.^[1]

Life and career

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]

Partial filmography

Awards

• Honorable Mention, Pink Grand Prix, for Whore Hospital^[8]
• 4th Women's Culture Prize in 2000^[2][3]
• Japanese Independent Film Festival, 2000^[2]
• 9th Festival Internazionale Cinema Delle Donne, 2' Premio^[3]
• Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Best Feature Film
• Mix Brasil 11, Best Feature Film

Bibliography

English

• Sachi Hamano at AllRovi
• Sachi Hamano at the Internet Movie Database
• "SACHI HAMANO". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
• "Sachi Hamano (A.K.A Chise Matoba)". www.pinkeiga.com. Retrieved 2010-03-28. 
• Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 296–298, 305, 317, 322, 339, 343, 371, 377. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7. 
• Yu, Sen-lun (2002-09-18). "Pornography from a woman's perspective". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2009-12-11. 

Japanese

• "浜佐知子" (in Japanese). www.allcinema.net. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
• "浜野　佐知" (in Japanese). Director's Guild of Japan. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
• "浜野佐知" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
• "浜野　佐知 (Interview)" (in Japanese). Love Piece Club. 2003-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 

Notes