Daishi Kato’s “camouflage” wins Best Narrative Short at Guam International Film Festival!
Daishi Kato’s “camouflage,” which was screened in the Japan Competition at SSFF & ASIA, won Best Narrative Short at Guam International Film Festival (September 26 to 30, 2015). The director was there to take part in the festival, and here is the report we received from him:
Guam International Film Festival was held from September 26 to 30, 2015. Many films were collected from countries around the world, and my SSFF & ASIA 2015 short “camouflage” was screened along with four other works. The Cinekon venue was located inside the shopping center.
I was worried about the venue being empty, but people were lined up out front and it was almost a full house for the screening. This was a relief.
One thing I noticed is that the audiences at overseas film festivals are frank; they give a loud round of applause at the end of films they enjoy, and laugh audibly when watching comedies. This said, for the films they don’t like, many audience members leave their seats.
I had the totally new experience of taking part in a thirty-minute non-stop Q&A – there was literally no break in the raising of hands – something I have not had at a Japanese film festival before. My film deals with the subject of bullying, and I received many questions relating to cultural differences, such as “Does bullying like that which occurs in your film really exist in Japan?”, and comments like, “I can’t understand the parents’ reactions.”
Many Japanese migrants currently living in Guam also joined the events, and I was pleased when they spoke to me following the screenings, saying how interesting they thought the film was.
Everyone, LIFE is Short!!
Each award was announced at the closing ceremony, which took part on the final day, including Best Narrative Short, for which “camouflage” was selected.
I was so happy to win with so many other wonderful films in the lineup. This is a photo with the other award-winning directors!!
Congratulations to Daishi Kato!