Now the film has been submitted as the Official Selection of Japan for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Before heading off to promote the film in L.A. this month, director Mipo O and producer Hoshino Hideki appeared before a small gathering of press to talk about the making of the film and its surprise submission. The Light Shines Only There is a tale of troubled souls living on the fringes of society, which stars Ayano Go, Chizuru Ikewaki and Suda Masaki.
ScreenAnarchy: This film is Japan's submission for a Best Foreign Film Oscar, what were your thoughts when you first heard the film was being submitted.
Mipo O. (MO): Before this film was released in Japan we held numerous screenings and when this film played at the Montreal World Film Festival I also attended and said a few words. Just as I was beginning to feel a bit sad that there wouldn't be any more screenings for me to show up to we received good news about this film being submitted for the Academy Awards.
I first learned that the film had been submitted after the film won the Best Director Award at the Montreal World Film Festival and when we came back to Japan we held a press conference to talk about this fact. As this press conference was going on I noticed that the producer, Hoshino, kept going in and out of the room and was acting very strangely. When it had all ended, he took me aside and told me that it had been submitted for the Academy Award. When I first heard his words I thought it was very strange and I couldn't understand it but now I can process it this is a huge honor and I am very happy.
Hoshino Hideki (HH): Going to the Academy Awards is a dream and a goal of mine and we would like to stress, this film has not been nominated yet, it has only been submitted. As the director said, I first heard about this submission when we were holding the press conference after the Montreal Festival. As a producer I'm supposed to be by her side at press conferences however I got a message from my staff saying that this film had been submitted and I was unable to stay in the room.
Could you talk about the casting decisions behind the three main leads? I thought Suda Masaki was particularly brilliant.
MO: Go Ayano came to perform first of all. Because this film is not flashy we needed a lead that wasn't only photogenic but would stand out in the film, the producer had worked before with him and said what an excellent actor he was and that he would be great for the film. Ikewaki Chizuru who plays Chinatsu in this film started her career twelve or thirteen years ago when she was only 20 years old and she gave an unforgettable performance in a film that was quite bold and it had nude scenes. Since then she has been considered an acclaimed actress and she has reputation for being an actor's actor. When the producer and I were talking about this film we decided we needed an actress of that caliber so we approached her and we didn't know if she would say yes, but when we did ask if she was interested she said "You need someone like me in this film", this is how she came to be cast.
Suda Masaki, who plays Takuji, has acted primarily in Japanese television dramas, he is something of an idol in Japan who is famous mostly for doing a series of Masked Rider television roles. Although he's very handsome and does very well with girls, I thought there was something more to him, something more that he could do and I felt he could go darker and do deeper roles and portray mulit-layered emotions. When I approached him and asked if he wanted to be in this film he said: "this is exactly the kind of roles I have been wanting to do".
HH: When I cast actors I usually meet them in person so I can gauge my reactions to meeting them for the first time. With actors like Ayano Go and Ikewaki Chizuru every time I meet them I still feel nervous, they have this kind of other worldly feeling to them and I wanted to make sure that was reflected in film. I believe that all three of these actors have that quality.
Could you tell us about the film's cinematography?
MO: Ryuto Kondo was the cinematographer and he has had a very prolific career here in Japan. He was very much up to the challenge of shooting this film. I was very sure that I wanted to shoot in cinemascope and I wanted it to be in color. I paid particular attention to the color of the actors flesh and also since Hokuto is a faded town I wanted to get that feeling and the feeling of the nightlights of the city. I wanted the audience to feel sentimental from looking at the images.
This film was shot using digital equipment and digital cameras. What was it like shooting with this equipment and why did you choose it?
MO: When we first started making this film, whether to shoot on film or digital was a choice we had to make. The way we decided this was by thinking "How much do we want to shoot?" Depending on the amount we shot it would effect the budget so we talked to the producer and the cinematographer and I talked with the producer as well and we made the decision to shoot on digital. The producer's earlier film, Sketches of Kaitan City was shot on 16mm so at first I wanted to shoot on that, but with digital you can shoot more and control the image afterwards so in the end the cameraman decided to go with the Sony X3.
HH: Sketches of Kaitan City was shot in Hokuto in winter and shooting a snow covered town is slightly different from a film in summer so it was appropriate to make this different choice between film and digital.
You are only the second female director from Japan to be submitted for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, this is following 2012's FOR OUR HOMELAND by Yong-hi Yang. What are your feelings on being a female director in this industry and do you feel any changes in the industry?
MO: I stared my career on set as a screenwriter and I've never thought about any disadvantages I've had as a woman in this industry so far in my career. When I think about it, I don't know if this is a positive or negative, but if I get married and have a child, a male director would have more time to spend away from home on set, but a female director would face more restrictions. I'm sure I would be able to experience a sort of mental growth from this. I must say that there are some disadvantages, however this is not a reality yet so at this stage I don't feel any disadvantages.
For most films that receive a nomination like this it often results in increased box office at home as well as a chance to sell the film overseas, is that the case?
MO: In Japan what usually happens is that before a film gets released here it will get screened in foreign film festivals and if it gets attention it leads to stronger box office. But this film is unusual in that it started to receive attention overseas six months after it was released domestically. This film is already out on DVD in Japan, but it received attention from the Montreal World Film Festival and also from the Academy Awards and because of this the recognition for this film has grown recently and considering it is such a tiny film it is quite remarkable.
HH: Regarding the interest for this film outside of Japan for the Academy Awards Best Foreign film category; 83 films were submitted from around the world and the films in this lineup contain one film which won the Palme d'or at Cannes and films which showed at Toronto and other major film festivals. Compared to these films the recognition for our film hasn't been as strong but if you look at the Academy Award Winner prediction sites, our film does seem to be in the upper half of film recognition. However, there's still room for improvement so this is why we're looking to go to Hollywood to raise attention for this film.
MO: I consider it a miracle this film was made, we had very little budget and we struggled to find a cast. There were several times when I thought we might have to give up so I am very grateful that this film was made. However, now that we've been given this opportunity I want to expand my dreams further.
HH: This film took four years from development to the end of filming and it was very hard to find the money to make it but because the director Mipo O. said yes to directing I was energized to continue. Although even after we finished filming we faced numerous issues we fought them together and after the filming finished the director and cast all worked together and the film went on to win awards at Montreal and Raindance Film Festival before finally being submitted for the Academy Award. I would like to say I'm happy but since this is a once in a lifetime opportunity I'd like to try harder to promote this film. The rest, of course is up to the Academy Awards members.
ScreenAnarchy: This film is Japan's submission for a Best Foreign Film Oscar, what were your thoughts when you first heard the film was being submitted.
Mipo O. (MO): Before this film was released in Japan we held numerous screenings and when this film played at the Montreal World Film Festival I also attended and said a few words. Just as I was beginning to feel a bit sad that there wouldn't be any more screenings for me to show up to we received good news about this film being submitted for the Academy Awards.
I first learned that the film had been submitted after the film won the Best Director Award at the Montreal World Film Festival and when we came back to Japan we held a press conference to talk about this fact. As this press conference was going on I noticed that the producer, Hoshino, kept going in and out of the room and was acting very strangely. When it had all ended, he took me aside and told me that it had been submitted for the Academy Award. When I first heard his words I thought it was very strange and I couldn't understand it but now I can process it this is a huge honor and I am very happy.
Hoshino Hideki (HH): Going to the Academy Awards is a dream and a goal of mine and we would like to stress, this film has not been nominated yet, it has only been submitted. As the director said, I first heard about this submission when we were holding the press conference after the Montreal Festival. As a producer I'm supposed to be by her side at press conferences however I got a message from my staff saying that this film had been submitted and I was unable to stay in the room.
Could you talk about the casting decisions behind the three main leads? I thought Suda Masaki was particularly brilliant.
MO: Go Ayano came to perform first of all. Because this film is not flashy we needed a lead that wasn't only photogenic but would stand out in the film, the producer had worked before with him and said what an excellent actor he was and that he would be great for the film. Ikewaki Chizuru who plays Chinatsu in this film started her career twelve or thirteen years ago when she was only 20 years old and she gave an unforgettable performance in a film that was quite bold and it had nude scenes. Since then she has been considered an acclaimed actress and she has reputation for being an actor's actor. When the producer and I were talking about this film we decided we needed an actress of that caliber so we approached her and we didn't know if she would say yes, but when we did ask if she was interested she said "You need someone like me in this film", this is how she came to be cast.
Suda Masaki, who plays Takuji, has acted primarily in Japanese television dramas, he is something of an idol in Japan who is famous mostly for doing a series of Masked Rider television roles. Although he's very handsome and does very well with girls, I thought there was something more to him, something more that he could do and I felt he could go darker and do deeper roles and portray mulit-layered emotions. When I approached him and asked if he wanted to be in this film he said: "this is exactly the kind of roles I have been wanting to do".
HH: When I cast actors I usually meet them in person so I can gauge my reactions to meeting them for the first time. With actors like Ayano Go and Ikewaki Chizuru every time I meet them I still feel nervous, they have this kind of other worldly feeling to them and I wanted to make sure that was reflected in film. I believe that all three of these actors have that quality.
Could you tell us about the film's cinematography?
MO: Ryuto Kondo was the cinematographer and he has had a very prolific career here in Japan. He was very much up to the challenge of shooting this film. I was very sure that I wanted to shoot in cinemascope and I wanted it to be in color. I paid particular attention to the color of the actors flesh and also since Hokuto is a faded town I wanted to get that feeling and the feeling of the nightlights of the city. I wanted the audience to feel sentimental from looking at the images.
This film was shot using digital equipment and digital cameras. What was it like shooting with this equipment and why did you choose it?
MO: When we first started making this film, whether to shoot on film or digital was a choice we had to make. The way we decided this was by thinking "How much do we want to shoot?" Depending on the amount we shot it would effect the budget so we talked to the producer and the cinematographer and I talked with the producer as well and we made the decision to shoot on digital. The producer's earlier film, Sketches of Kaitan City was shot on 16mm so at first I wanted to shoot on that, but with digital you can shoot more and control the image afterwards so in the end the cameraman decided to go with the Sony X3.
HH: Sketches of Kaitan City was shot in Hokuto in winter and shooting a snow covered town is slightly different from a film in summer so it was appropriate to make this different choice between film and digital.
You are only the second female director from Japan to be submitted for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, this is following 2012's FOR OUR HOMELAND by Yong-hi Yang. What are your feelings on being a female director in this industry and do you feel any changes in the industry?
MO: I stared my career on set as a screenwriter and I've never thought about any disadvantages I've had as a woman in this industry so far in my career. When I think about it, I don't know if this is a positive or negative, but if I get married and have a child, a male director would have more time to spend away from home on set, but a female director would face more restrictions. I'm sure I would be able to experience a sort of mental growth from this. I must say that there are some disadvantages, however this is not a reality yet so at this stage I don't feel any disadvantages.
For most films that receive a nomination like this it often results in increased box office at home as well as a chance to sell the film overseas, is that the case?
MO: In Japan what usually happens is that before a film gets released here it will get screened in foreign film festivals and if it gets attention it leads to stronger box office. But this film is unusual in that it started to receive attention overseas six months after it was released domestically. This film is already out on DVD in Japan, but it received attention from the Montreal World Film Festival and also from the Academy Awards and because of this the recognition for this film has grown recently and considering it is such a tiny film it is quite remarkable.
HH: Regarding the interest for this film outside of Japan for the Academy Awards Best Foreign film category; 83 films were submitted from around the world and the films in this lineup contain one film which won the Palme d'or at Cannes and films which showed at Toronto and other major film festivals. Compared to these films the recognition for our film hasn't been as strong but if you look at the Academy Award Winner prediction sites, our film does seem to be in the upper half of film recognition. However, there's still room for improvement so this is why we're looking to go to Hollywood to raise attention for this film.
MO: I consider it a miracle this film was made, we had very little budget and we struggled to find a cast. There were several times when I thought we might have to give up so I am very grateful that this film was made. However, now that we've been given this opportunity I want to expand my dreams further.
HH: This film took four years from development to the end of filming and it was very hard to find the money to make it but because the director Mipo O. said yes to directing I was energized to continue. Although even after we finished filming we faced numerous issues we fought them together and after the filming finished the director and cast all worked together and the film went on to win awards at Montreal and Raindance Film Festival before finally being submitted for the Academy Award. I would like to say I'm happy but since this is a once in a lifetime opportunity I'd like to try harder to promote this film. The rest, of course is up to the Academy Awards members.