The son of a painter who specialized in floral designs, he studied painting at the Tokyo Art Institute and made his first contact with film as a critic. He began directing documentary shorts in the early 50s and moved onto features in the 60s. His first feature-length film, The Pitfall (1961), was by his own definition a "documentary fantasy." It revealed a preoccupation with the bizarre which blossomed into a compelling abstract experience in Woman in the Dunes (1964). The latter film, made independently for a mere $100,000, made a strong impression on Western audiences with its bold imagery and enormous close-ups and won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Teshigahara's subsequent films, mainly psychological thrillers, have been less daring or innovative. He has his own film company, Teshigahara Productions.