Profile | プロフィール
Born / 生年月日
February 24, 1961 | St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Age / 年齢
64 years old (as of 2025)
Occupation / 職業
Film Director, Screenwriter, Actress
映画監督、脚本家、俳優
Nationality / 国籍
American (アメリカ)
Biography | 経歴
[English] Kasi Lemmons is one of the most significant and formally gifted directors in contemporary Black American cinema. Her directorial debut, Eve’s Bayou, remains one of the finest first films in American history—a masterpiece of psychological depth and serious humanistic insight. Despite the structural barriers in Hollywood that often create gaps between her projects, the quality and ambition of her work have never wavered. For nearly three decades, she has shown immense artistic courage by consistently telling serious, formally bold stories about the Black American experience. From the haunting beauty of Eve’s Bayou to the historical weight of Harriet, her filmography is a testament to a filmmaker who persists in the face of systemic inequality. Kasi Lemmons is a vital voice in American cinema whose true value is only beginning to be fully recognized.
[日本語] ケイシー・レモンズは、現代の黒人アメリカ映画界において、最も重要で、表現形式に優れた才能を持つ監督の一人です。デビュー作『イヴズ・ベイユー』は、アメリカ映画史に残る傑作デビュー作の一つであり、深い心理描写と真摯な人間愛に満ちた、黒人映画の金字塔ともいえる作品です。ハリウッドにおいて黒人女性監督が直面する構造的な壁により、彼女の作品の間隔が空いてしまうこともありましたが、それは彼女の才能や野心の不足によるものではありません。30年近くにわたり、不平等な機会に直面しながらも、黒人アメリカ人の経験を真剣かつ大胆な形式で描き続けてきた彼女の歩みは、それ自体が類まれな「芸術的勇気」の証明です。歴史の重みを刻んだ『ハリエット』などの作品群を含め、彼女の映画界への貢献は、今後ますます正当に評価されるべき重要なものです。
Filmography | 主な作品
Feature Films — Director / Writer (監督・脚本作品)
| Year | Title (English / Japanese) | Budget | Box Office | Awards/Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Eve’s Bayou / イヴズ・ベイユー | ~$8M | $14.9M | Roger Ebert Best Film of 1997 🏆 / Independent Spirit nom. Best Film, Best Director 🌟 / National Board of Review Best Actor (Samuel L. Jackson) 🏆 / One of the greatest Black American films ever made / Southern Gothic / Creole Louisiana |
| 2001 | The Caveman’s Valentine | $8M | $1.1M | Samuel L. Jackson / Neo-noir / Juilliard pianist / Central Park / Delusion as formal element |
| 2007 | Talk to Me / トーク・トゥ・ミー | $15M | $10.1M | Don Cheadle / Chiwetel Ejiofor / Petey Greene / 1960s–70s Washington DC Black radio / Civil rights era |
| 2013 | Black Nativity | $17M | $7.1M | Forest Whitaker / Jennifer Hudson / Angela Bassett / Langston Hughes adaptation |
| 2019 | Harriet / ハリエット | $17M | $43.7M | Oscar nom. Best Actress (Cynthia Erivo) 🌟 Oscar nom. Best Original Song 🌟 / First major Hollywood film about Harriet Tubman / Underground Railroad / Spiritual visions / Cynthia Erivo |
| 2022 | Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody | $40M | $67.3M | Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston / Commercial biographical film |
Selected Acting Performances (主な俳優出演作)
| Year | Title (English / Japanese) | Director | Role | Box Office | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | School Daze | Spike Lee | — | $14.5M | Early career / Spike Lee |
| 1991 | The Silence of the Lambs / 羊たちの沈黙 | Jonathan Demme | Ardelia Mapp | $272.7M | Career-defining acting role / Clarice’s closest friend / Emotional anchor of the film / Oscar Best Picture winner |
| 1991 | The Five Heartbeats | Robert Townsend | — | $8.8M | |
| 1992 | Candyman / キャンディマン | Bernard Rose | Bernadette Walsh | $25.8M | Horror / Virginia Madsen |
| 1993 | Fear of a Black Hat | Rusty Cundieff | — | — | Mockumentary |
| 1993 | Hard Target / ハード・ターゲット | John Woo | Nat Binder | $32.4M | John Woo Hollywood debut / Jean-Claude Van Damme |
| 1997 | Eve’s Bayou | Kasi Lemmons (dir.) | Elzora | $14.9M | Also director / Brief acting role in own film |
| 1997 | Contact / コンタクト | Robert Zemeckis | Rachel Constantine | $171.1M | Jodie Foster / Carl Sagan |
| 1998 | Gridlock’d | Vondie Curtis-Hall | — | $5.5M | Husband’s film |
| 2000 | The Caveman’s Valentine | Kasi Lemmons (dir.) | — | $1.1M | Also director |
Awards & Recognition | 受賞歴
Academy Awards (アカデミー賞) — as Director/Producer
Films directed with Oscar nominations:
- Best Actress – Harriet / Cynthia Erivo (2020) 🌟
- Best Original Song – Harriet / “Stand Up” performed by Cynthia Erivo (2020) 🌟
Independent Spirit Awards
Nominated:
- Best Director – Eve’s Bayou (1998) 🌟
- Best Feature – Eve’s Bayou (1998) 🌟
National Board of Review
- Eve’s Bayou: Best Actor (Samuel L. Jackson) 🏆; film on Top Ten Films of the Year list 🏆
Critics’ Recognition
- Eve’s Bayou — Roger Ebert Best Film of 1997 🏆
- Eve’s Bayou — consistent inclusion in critical surveys of greatest Black American films and greatest American films of the 1990s 🏆
- Talk to Me — positive critical reception as one of most formally serious biographical films of 2007 🏆
Box Office | 興行成績
| Film | Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|
| The Silence of the Lambs (1991, acting) | $272.7 million |
| Contact (1997, acting) | $171.1 million |
| Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022, directing) | $67.3 million |
| Harriet (2019, directing) | $43.7 million |
| Eve’s Bayou (1997, directing) | $14.9 million |
