"Rigorous, moving, and profound."-Village VoiceOne of the major directors to emerge in Japan during the 1960s, Hiroshi Teshigahara (b. 1927) stands outside of the industry: directing films is but one of the many ways he has pursued a commitment to art, and he has made only films of his own choosing.After studying painting at Tokyo Fine Arts Institute, in 1950 Teshigahara organized the Seiki ("Century") group of artists and intellectuals who shared an interest in avant-garde writing, theater, and art. He turned to filmmaking in 1953, and found as mentors Fumio Kamei, a leading documentary director admired for his uncompromising socialist stance, and Keisuke Kinoshita. Teshigahara is the son of a highly respected ikebana artist who founded the Sogetsu school, and one can see the influence of this expressive, experimental approach to a traditional art in the sculptural plasticity of his images.Teshigahara famously directed four films based on scripts by Kobo Abe, with scores by Toru Takemitsu. These explore themes of disappearance, (de)construction of identity, and the relationship between physical reality and imagination. Abe's novels often evoke Kafka in their portrayal of alienation, and lovers of literature may sense a touch of Beckett and Robbe-Grillet in the existential questions raised in the films. Teshigahara transforms Abe's texts into cinematic adventures. Concrete images-the quality of film which first attracted him to the medium-create surreal, layered narratives of tension and mystery. In addition to the classic Woman in the Dunes, PFA is pleased to present four films that have disappeared from the big screen, including two which we have never shown before. Special thanks to Mr. Hiroshi Teshigahara; Makiko Kumazawa, Teshigahara Productions; and Rie Takauchi and Naoko Watanabe, The Japan Foundation. Series curated at PFA by Mona Nagai.