This is Shun Mizobuchi, your MC/ reporter for day 3 at SHIDAX CULTURE HALL in Shibuya.

We welcomed a lot of talented filmmakers from around the world, and the venue was packed! There were a lot of interesting questions asked, which allowed all of us to deepen the understanding of each and every film.

The day started with…

[Asia International & Japan Program 7]

“The Masseuse”
Tan Ce Ding (Director), Edward Lim (Producer), Tan Teck Zee (Cameraman), Sherwyn Victor (Screnplay)

The team coming from Malaysia, Lim mentioned how he was “looking forward to have his movie shown in Japan, where robotic technology is state of the art”. There was a question raised from the audience regarding the shocking ending, and Lim replied that “the focus is how the main character is forced a decision between love for his father and that for the android.”
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“Tokyo 21^st October”
Tadashi Yoshino (Producer), Hiroshi Okuyama (Director)

Yoshino presented a letter from the leading actress, Shinobu Otake. Okuyama explained how he “included animation elements to express the last scene”.

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“Line”
Jihoon Shin (Director), Jaehyun Park (Actor)

“Only a few days were used for shooting this film,” Shin revealed. There were moments during the talk session where a translating app was used to communicate, which reminded us of how futuristic our world is becoming.

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“Areola Borealis”
Li Lin Wee (Director)

As surprising as it may sound, this film was based on Wee’s personal actual experience! She stated how she “wanted to address why women have to hide their breasts with a bra”, and that she wanted to portray the women teaming up against the “bra issue”.

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[International Program 3]

“MAGIC ALPS” Andrea Italia (Producer)

With the film being based on a true story, Andrea spoke of how the team wanted to raise the issue of immigrants to Italy from a unique perspective. Questions regarding the immigration issue in Italy was brought up during the Q&A session, together with questions such as “why did you choose a goat?”.

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“SONS OF”
Charlotte Karas (Director), Thierry Le Mer (Director)

The film, seeming like a documentary, was actually not, with children being all actors. The two directors agreed with one of the audience members stating how she was “shocked to see the videos of the children lined up on a fake website, as if they were products”. Le Mer surprised the audience with the fact that three of his nephews were in the film.
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[Asia International & Japan Program 9]

“Black and Blue”
Rie Kato (Cast), Rei Tanaka (Cast)

Kato shared her episode that “everyone on set was gloomy at times, because physical and mental ‘bruises’ were something anyone could resonate to”. This being one of her first movies to work on, Tanaka made efforts to “feel” the environment which her role was existing in.

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“MY TURN”
Nakyung Kim (Director), Hannah Kim (Cast), Gayoung Joo (Cast)

This film portrayed a social problem in Korea, where women have to follow an untold rule of pregnancy orders. Kim stated that she “wanted to address the issue of the system, rather than of life”. The audience gave a nod when she said “I heard this problem exists in Japan as well”.

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“TEZUTU – the flower town-“
Tatsuya Ino (Director)

Ever since he knew of SSFF fifteen years ago, it had been his goal to have his film screened at SSFF, Ino said. He expressed his joy of being able to participate in this film festival.

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“future me”
Keisuke Toyoshima (Director), Nana Oda (Cast)

The film being shot in Toyoshima’s alma mater, he shared with the audience how the shooting took place battling time, with daylight hours being short during winter. Oda expressed her determination to be in a fantasy piece, her favorite genre.

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[International Program 6]

“Silence Please”
Carlos Villafaina (Director)

Villafaina’s actual twin brother was starring in this film. He said one of the hardships during shooting was conveying to the actor of the real life situation, it being families with handicapped members could feel bothersome of the care they have to provide, at times.
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[CG Animation Program 2]

“The Psychedelic Rope”
Gaoxiang Liu (Director)

Based on a classic piece from Qing dynasty, Liu mentioned how the film focused on the blend of essence from oil painting, sketching, and ink painting. He also stated how the balance between camera work and drawing was important for this piece.
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The grand festival continues! Be sure not to miss out on the 20^th anniversary celebration of one of the greatest movie festivals in the world!

Reported by  Shun Mizobuchi.
Life is SHORT!