Masami Kawai
Assistant Professor
Department of Cinema Studies
254 PLC
541-346-8141
mkawai@uoregon.edu
Education
B.A., Liberal Arts concentration in Radical Pedagogy, Post-Colonial Studies, and Visual Arts, Hampshire College, 2003
M.F.A., Film Production with an emphasis in Directing, Univesity of California, Los Angeles, 2013
Biography
I’m a Los Angeles-born filmmaker, who divides my time between Oregon and LA. My work integrates issues of race, class, gender, and what it means to be an immigrant across multiple modes of filmmaking. I’m interested in exploring these issues through techniques of realism to reveal the complexity of the human experience. In the past, I’ve been a selected director in the Francis Ford Coppola One-Act play series. I also received a fellowship from LA’s Visual Communications, which supports emerging Asian American filmmakers and was supported by the Panavision New Filmmaker’s grant. In addition, I’ve participated in Film Independent’s diversity program, Project Involve. My work has screened at various venues, including the Rotterdam Film Festival, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Portland International Film Festival, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Recent Citations – Publications – Professional Work
Zona (in Post-Production)
Short // Arri Alexa // Language: Japanese & English
Writer, Director, Editor & Producer
SYZYGY
Installation // Closed-circuit live feed video // 2019
Tides // 2018
11 min // RED & Arri Alexa // Language: English
Writer, Director, Editor & Producer
Eclipse // 2018
5 min // Digital // Experimental // No dialogue
Writer, Director, DP, Editor & Producer
Tone Circle // 2017
Ditch Projects collective group video
Private Places Gallery, Portland, Oregon // 2017
Nami // 2014
13 min // 16mm // Language: Japanese
Writer, Director, Editor & Producer
Cleaner // 2013
18 min // RED // Languages: English, Korean & Spanish
Writer, Director & Producer
Coursework
- CINE 270: Narrative I
- CINE 320: Screenwriting I
- CINE 408: The Art of Producing
- CINE 420: Screenwriting II
- CINE 426: The Art of Directing