On Sep 14th, there is the premiere screening of ‘almost people’ in the Tokyo area.
Goichi Mine, Elisa Yanagi, Kai Inowaki, Mihaya Shirata, Gakuryu Ishi, Takuto Kato, and Fumio Moriya,
4 protagonists and 3 directors attended the media conference before the screening.
”Japanese art house films to independent cinemas all over the world”. The goals they set, this film will be released in London, New York, and Toronto simultaneously.
The theme of the film is the story of 4 siblings who have a lack of emotions.
Takuto Kato who participated in this film from the development phase said ”There is less way to describe something unexciting for the films”.
While discussing the difficulty of expressing the theme in the film, he commented on the production process, "As we all talked about the project together, we were able to see the shape of the film”.
Director Fumio Moriya said, "What is the lack of emotion?" I felt like, "I don't know. But it is not interesting if the answer is immediate, so I took the film because I thought it would be worthwhile." Director Gakuryu Ishii commented on his participation in the film, "It was very stimulating to shoot with both veteran and young directors”.
Then the actors who took on the difficult work shared their thoughts and feelings.
Goichi Mine for Hikaru Kamio as the elder brother who had a lack of Joy commented he had been asking Director Satoko Yokohama what joy is,
which is as same as the emotion that I felt in the film.
He added, "As we proceeded with the filming, there were scenes where I thought, 'This could be it'.
I was able to see things that I couldn't see in the script as we went through the scenes," he said.
Finally, he expressed his joy with this screening with his own joy.
Elisa Yangi for Himiko Kamio as the elder sister who had a lack of Anger commented about filming with Director Gakuryu Ishii, “I have lived my life with a passion for movies, and when I saw Director Gakuryu Ishii's films, I thought, "How cool!” I was very happy to be able to work with him
And I want to tell my high school self, "There is a future you will work with him”.
Regarding the theme of the film, she said, "The theme of this film is the lack of emotion, so it was difficult to express what the role originally lacked. I had to find a way to make it look that way." Looking back, she said, "We had a lot of discussions about this point on the set. He was very attentive to me and directed the film in a way that made me feel very close to him”. She expressed her gratitude to him.
Kai Inowaki for Taiyo Kamio who had a lack of pleasure confesses that the project was a bit reckless for him, saying, "I love movies to begin with, and it was hard to control the overflow of fun I was having when I was on set”.
He added, "There is a dating scene at an amusement park, so I went to the amusement park before filming. "I never have fun! I won't laugh!" I arrived at the nearest station, but the moment I stepped into the amusement park, I found myself already laughing," he said with a smile about the sinking episode before the filming.
In this difficult role, he said, "I played his own way of dating and dancing, thinking that even if they don't know what "fun" is, they must have something else to fill their hearts.
Miyaha Shirata for Hanako Kamio who had a lack of loneliness looked back “We shot the film in Manazuru, and there was a sense of loneliness on the set itself, so I was like, "What should I do? I had to think a lot about the difference between 'loneliness' and 'sadness,' so I discussed it a lot with Director Fumio Moriya,"
she said, expressing her relief at the film's safe completion as well.
When the topic turned to the fact that the film would be released overseas, she said, "I'm really happy. I’ve been overseas and can speak English, so I would like to say something in English..." She expressed her feelings in fluent English!
I hope this movie succeeds in the world and I hope everyone will watch it.
I feel like this story is a bit difficult to understand, and I was also kind of frustrated when I was acting.
but I hope everyone will enjoy it, and in many ways because we have four stories. Thank you.
The MC unexpectedly asked, "Are you sure you're ready for the next one?" but Kai Inowaki commented "I am very happy to be able to release Japanese films in overseas art house cinemas simultaneously. I'm really looking forward to reading the reviews and opinions of people overseas at the same time, and I hope it will reach many people." Elisa Yanagi also confessed her excitement, saying, "I think it's great that a Japanese film is going overseas, so I'm nervously waiting to see what kind of reactions we'll get from people in other countries.
Goichi Mine, who was the last of the actors to comment on the film, said, "My sister and brother are really well-behaved," eliciting laughter, and then added, "I myself am excited and thrilled as a movie fan because the film will be shown at various art house cinemas in Japan. The film will also be screened at an art house cinema in my hometown of Kumamoto prefecture, so I want to go there to greet the audience. I am happy to have such a connection to other cinemas all over Japan and be able to stop by the cinemas from now on.
Of course, the directors also have high expectations for the film's screening overseas. Director Fumio Moriya said, "The film shows Japan, which we shot last year, and people overseas may find interesting things we never thought of. "I'd like to hear impressions like, “Whaaaaat, you watched it there?"
Director Takuto Kato said, "The film is based on emotions that almost all human beings have, but I think that no matter what kind of people in any country watch it, there will be something sympathetic and something not so sympathetic. Once we get the same kind of opinions and receive them differently, it is very meaningful to complete this film.
Director Gakuryu Ishii said, "I think it is a film that does not simply end with 'interesting' or 'boring’. I think it is a film that will generate a lot of new dialogue. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of dialogue will emerge from the feedback, not only from Japan but from around the world.
After the screening, a talk event was held with the audience who saw the film at the earliest opportunity. When the director and cast members took the stage, the audience applauded loudly.
A male participant commented, "Before I saw it, I imagined it would be a serious story, but it was a very fantastic film with some quite funny parts. Elisa Yanagi shared her honest impression, saying, "I thought it was an amazing lineup of four works". Kai Inowaki, who had not heard of the other works because his episode was made first, commented on Elisa Yanagi's work, "Wow, what a big sis I had!”, which drew laughter from the audience.
Director Fumio Moriya concluded his answer by saying, "Goichi Mine was wonderful! he replied.
Director Satoko Yokohama, who brilliantly directed Goichi Mine, sent a video message, saying, "We had a very fun and fulfilling shooting period. I hope that this enjoyment will be conveyed to you all. I would be happy if you could tell someone close to you about this film," she said, calling for support for the film.
In closing, Director Gakuryu Ishii said, "This is a project that encourages dialogue, cutting to the heart of what is important. I think this is a very interesting experiment because film is a common language in the world. I look forward to many people seeing this film, which does various things in an ambitious and casual manner, and I look forward to the dialogue it will generate.
And the event came to the end……
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