Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
Hiroshi Teshigahara (勅使河原 宏, Teshigahara Hiroshi, January 28, 1927 – April 14, 2001) was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964 film Woman in the Dunes. He is also known for directing other titles such as The Face of Another (1966), Natsu No Heitai (Summer Soldiers, 1972), and Pitfall (1962) which was Teshigahara's directorial debut. He has been called "one of the most acclaimed Japanese directors of all time". Teshigahara is the first person of Asian descent to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, accomplishing this in 1964 for his work on Woman in the Dunes. Apart from being a filmmaker, Teshigahara also practiced other arts, such as calligraphy, pottery, painting, opera and ikebana.