Akira Yamada

A master of Japanese cinema, Akira Yamada was born in 1945 in Tokyo, Japan. He was active in the film industry from the early 1970s until the late 1990s, primarily working in the genres of drama and thriller, and his most notable films include "City of Shadows" and "The Silent Echo". Although he never won a major festival award, his aesthetic of stark, urban realism and deeply complex characters garnered a devoted following. Those who knew Yamada always admired his relentless pursuit of authenticity and his ability to capture the human condition in a way that few others could.