EXPO PLL Talks
EXPO PLL Talks
Director KAWASE Naomi takes the stage! EXPO PLL Talks
"Art & Impact: Thinking about the Post-EXPO World with Innovators" vol.9
The 9th EXPO PLL Talks "Art & Impact: Thinking about the Post-EXPO World with Innovators" will feature film director KAWASE Naomi as a guest. Director Kawase has been appointed as the Theme Project Producer and Senior Advisor for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.
"What have our predecessors left us, the conversation we need to have now, and how do we envision the future that follows?" We asked Director Kawase what message she wants to convey through her film and the Expo.
We will also be talking about the Nara International Film Festival 2024, which will begin on Friday, September 20th. This is a rare opportunity to hear Director Kawase speak up close. Please come along!
Film director Naomi Kawase talks about "Living, Filming, and Raising Children"
Q1. How did your stunning debut film, Moe no Suzaku, come about?
When I was 27 years old, I was making independent films alone in Nara. While teaching at a vocational school, I saved 1 million yen from my annual income of 1.5 million yen, and spent it all on film, refraining from food and clothes. Eating out was out of the question, and a bowl of rice with pork cutlet was my daily treat. In the midst of all this, I made a decision in my mind to "make a film that would reach the world, without relying on anyone."Then, the director of photography, Masaki Tamura, brought my handwritten script to WOWOW. Tamura is someone I respect deeply, and he has shot documentaries on the anti-construction struggle at Narita Airport. When Tamura said to me, "I'll shoot your next film," it was a turning point in my life.
The funding was about 30 million yen. To me, that was enough to build a house. It was the largest amount of money I had ever seen in my life, but I poured it all into the film. The completed film, Suzaku, was invited to the Rotterdam International Film Festival, where it caught the eye of a director from Cannes who happened to be there, and was officially invited to close the festival's Directors' Fortnight. What's more, it won the Camera d'Or, the award for best new director.
It was such a sudden event that I didn't even know what Cannes was. I changed from my 1,000 yen sweater into a dress and walked down the red carpet. On the way back to Nara in economy class, I carried the trophy on my lap. That was my first encounter with the world.
Q2. Why do you continue to work as both a film director and producer?
When I made "Mogari no Mori," I also stepped into the world of producing for the first time. I had conflicts with producers in Tokyo over the difference in our sense of time and values, so I decided that I had no choice but to do it myself. I raised money, made a schedule, and made a film in a way that fit my reality while also juggling childcare and nursing care. That became my way of doing things.Being a producer requires using completely different "muscles" than a creator. Directing requires pushing yourself to the limit. But as a producer, there are also times when you have to "compromise" within a limited budget. I've been doing two truly contradictory jobs all by myself.
That's why I often liken it to the "feelings of a housewife." You only have 300 yen today. But you want to feed your family delicious food. In that case, you'll go to the supermarket and make a delicious dish using bean sprouts, eggs, and chives. Filmmaking is exactly the same; you need the ingenuity and determination to extract the maximum value from limited resources.
In fact, even while I was touring film festivals around the world like on a world tour, I was writing scripts, novels, and preparing for my next project. I had no time to rest. Still, I think I was able to do it with just the thought, "I hope someone will watch this and find their own way in life."
Q3. Why do you continue to focus on Nara?
Nara is a special place to me. Kasuga Taisha Shrine Forest, Kofuku-ji Temple, Todai-ji Temple, and the Heijo Palace ruins - all of these are places I have been familiar with as playgrounds since my childhood. Growing up in a place where world heritage sites are a part of everyday life is the origin of my creativity."If you want to do that, you have to go to Tokyo," and "Culture doesn't develop in Nara," I was told many times. But I think there is meaning in staying here. I also had to care for my adoptive mother and raise my child. I searched for my own expression under the constraint of not being able to move. It is only in the midst of this pain that I can see things.
And there is a "light" that can only be captured here. The green of Nara's forests, the sunlight in the morning, and the townscape where deer coexist. These are not just landscapes, but "memories" that have remained for over 1,300 years. I believe that by capturing these memories on film, I am handing over the baton to be passed on to the future.
So it was inevitable that we decided to start a film festival in Nara. Inviting filmmakers from around the world to Nara and letting them experience the atmosphere of Nara is a way of sending out new culture from Japan to the world.
Q4. What motivated you to start the Nara International Film Festival? What does it mean to you?
In 2007, three years before the 1300th anniversary of the relocation of the capital to Heijo, we decided to start a film festival in Nara. We took the idea to the Kansai Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, not the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and launched the Nara International Film Festival through direct negotiations. The first festival was held in 2010. We invited young film directors from all over the world and created a festival-like space where they could meet the local citizens.Film festivals are also a place for branding. One of the things we did was lay a red carpet on the 52 steps of the staircase in Nara. The staircase descending from the top was meant to evoke the image of "bringing the gods to earth." Like the red carpet in Cannes, we wanted to create a space where everyone could see the value of the place.
Financially, we have always struggled. At times, support from the city and prefecture was suddenly cut to zero due to the council's circumstances. But we managed to continue somehow by talking to each and every citizen and persuading supporting companies. The road I have walked has been a thorny one, but I am proud that we have continued for 14 years.
Now, visitors come from all over the country, and it has become a place where young creators can meet the world in Nara. It is my hope that new talent will take flight from here.
Q5. What is "Dialogue Theater" that you will produce for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo?
The pavilion I am working on for the Expo is a cinema called the Dialogue Theater. However, it is not a place to simply watch a film. It is a participatory space that has been renovated from an old elementary school building, where visitors and storytellers can engage in a once-in-a-lifetime dialogue.A ginkgo tree over 10 meters tall will be brought in from Nara to serve as the centerpiece. This tree holds the memories of the schoolyard where the voices of children were actually heard. The idea of "transferring memories" is the core of this pavilion.
After the event, we plan to donate both the school building and the trees to a local government, so that they can be passed on to the future. Rather than being a temporary exhibit, we want to leave it as a piece of recycled art. To that end, we are working with landscape artists and architects to carefully create a space that coexists with nature.
We are also currently looking for speakers. Those selected will participate in a workshop with me and then take to the stage for a lively dialogue. Anyone can become an artist, even if they are not a creator. This is an attempt to create such an inclusive space.
Q6. What do you want to nurture and leave behind in the future?
Up until now, I have been walking a path where "living" and "expression" overlap. While caring for the elderly and raising children, I raise funds as a producer and create works as a creator. As I continued to do this every day, I realized that there are limits to what one person can do.That's why I want to foster "companions to walk together." Japan still lacks producers and fundraisers who support culture. The value of movies and art cannot be measured by "sales" alone. We need people and systems to support them as something that cultivates spiritual richness.
In fact, MoMA in the United States has hundreds of fundraisers. In Japan, on the other hand, the number of people who serve as both fundraisers can be counted on one hand. That is why we have to create a new system. Both the film festival and the Expo are not just events, but "places to nurture." Leaving an environment that makes it easy for the next generation to express themselves. That's what I want to do from now on. And it's also a way of giving back to the things I've learned from film and put them to good use.
*The contents of this article are based on excerpts and summaries from the video. There may be some differences in expression and nuance, so we recommend watching the full video to confirm accurate information.
Event Overview
Date and time: Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 18:30-19:45 (reception opens at 18:00)
Venue: Sakura Room, 1st floor, Hotel Obana (1110 Takabatake-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture)
Guest: Director KAWASE Naomi (Film director, Osaka-Kansai Expo Theme Project Producer)
Moderator: SUZUKI Daisuke (CEO of ARTLOGUE Inc., General Producer of Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival)
Participation fee: 1,000 yen (tax included)
Capacity: First 40 people
Organized by: Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, Osaka Kansai International Arts Festival Executive Committee (within ARTLOGUE Inc.)
For inquiries, please contact: info@artlogue.org (Ishigaki / ARTLOGUE Inc.)
*Please contact ARTLOGUE Inc. for all inquiries.
Profile
KAWASE Naomi
A filmmaker based in Nara who continues to create films. Her consistent pursuit of "reality" transcends the realms of documentary and fiction, and has won numerous awards at film festivals around the world. At the Cannes Film Festival, his film "Suzaku (97)" won the Camera d'Or at the youngest age ever, and "The Mourning Forest (07)" won the Grand Prix. Other notable works include "The Second Window," "An," "Light," and "Morning Comes."
In 2010, she launched the Nara International Film Festival, was appointed as the official documentary director of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and will serve as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and a producer and senior advisor for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo Theme Project from 2021. In her private life, she grows vegetables and rice. She is currently working on a new film scheduled for release in 2025.
"2025 Osaka Kansai Expo Signature Pavilion produced by KAWASE Naomi"
The Nara International Film Festival 2024 is about to begin! (September 20th - 23rd, 2024)
SUZUKI Daisuke
CEO of ARTLOGUE Inc., General Producer of Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival.
Born on Culture Day, November 3, 1977. Founded his own company after participating in a research project at the Global COE of the Urban Research Plaza of Osaka City University. Winner of the Good Design Award in 2014, finalist in the Kyoto University GTEP Program (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) in 2015, and winner of the OIH Award for Global Innovation at Miraino Pitch (Business Contest: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Kinki Bureau of Telecommunications) in 2016. Aiming to create the world's largest "Osaka Kansai International Art Festival" on the occasion of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, "Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival" will be held from 2022.
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