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

Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-born filmmaker who lives in Eugene, Oregon. She's of Ryukyuan descent from the island of Amami. Kawai participated in Film Independent's diversity program, Project Involve, and her work has screened at various venues, including the Rotterdam Film Festival, LACMA, and Indie Memphis. Her film TIDES won Best Narrative Short at the Northwest Film Forum and Eastern Oregon Film Festival. Her film ZONA won Best Narrative Short at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

She is currently an Assistant Professor of Filmmaking at the University of Oregon. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College, where she focused on Visual Arts, Radical Pedagogy, and Post-Colonial Studies. After graduation, she devoted herself to community organizing before pursuing filmmaking again. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Directing from UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television.

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