Sing a Song of Sex

Nagisa Ōshima, born in 1932 in Okayama, was a formidable Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinema theorist. After studying political science at Kyoto University, he joined Shochiku film studio, where he assisted directors like Masaki Kobayashi. Prior to his directorial debut in 1959 with A Town of Love and Hope, Ōshima was already a respected film critic. In 1960, he directed three films that launched the Shochiku New Wave, joining contemporaries like Masahiro Shinoda and Shōhei Imamura, and becoming a leading voice of what would later be known as the Japanese New Wave. A radical and politically engaged filmmaker, Ōshima frequently addressed contentious issues such as the Vietnam War, the plight of Koreans in Japan, and the death penalty. His refusal to conform to commercial studio expectations led him to leave Shochiku and establish his own company, Sōzōsha, producing major works with the Art Theatre Guild. Ōshima's career spanned four decades, including international projects, and he remained a critical iconoclast and keen observer of society until his death from pneumonia in 2013 at the age of 80.