Japanese director Morita dies

The award-winning director passed away on Tuesday (20Dec11) of acute liver failure at a hospital in Tokyo.

Morita started his movie career in the early 1980s after teaching himself to direct, and he won great critical acclaim for his 1983 film Family Game, which was voted as picture of the year by Japanese critics.

The dark comedy also won him the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award.

Throughout his career Morita also picked up the Best Director award for Ashura no Gotoku in 2004, as well as the best director trophy at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for 1999’s Keiho.