I want to turn children's imagination into images. Director Daishi Okuyama “I Hate Jesus” [Director’s Interview Vol.51]

His first feature film, ``I Hate Jesus,'' won him the San Sebastian International Film Festival's Best New Director award at the age of 22, making him the youngest person ever to do so. Since then, director Daishi Okuyama has continued to win awards at international film festivals, and even though he made his own independent films during his student days, the quality of his films even made it possible for them to be screened at TOHO Cinemas. We spoke to the director himself about how he was able to achieve such quality for his first film as a director.

Index

• If you want to go to a film festival, avoid filming as much as possible.
• I want to directly reflect children's imaginations on film.
• Producer role concurrently with director
• Don't give the script to your child
  
• Self-taught photography techniques
• The reason was Xavier Dolan

If you want to go to a film festival, avoid filming as much as possible.

Q: I heard that this was your first feature-length directorial work, but how did it become a film?

Okuyama: When I was thinking about what to make for my university The Graduate project, I thought it would be great if I could make a film out of what I experienced when I was little. I had the experience of losing a friend when I was young, and I wanted to make a movie about my memories with him. At first, I didn't think about using religion as a theme, but rather started thinking about the story around friendship.

Q: When you say your The Graduate project, was it from the film department?

Okuyama: No, I was in a culture-related department at a comprehensive university, so rather than learning about film production, I learned about production theory. In this department, we learned about the flow of production costs, such as how to raise money for production and how to recover the money spent. However, there was a seminar where we actually tried making videos, and I made The Graduate project there.

Unlike art universities, there is no system in place where the school pays you for The Graduate project, so I had no choice but to raise the money myself. Also, once you have collected the items, you have to collect them, so what I learned at school was inevitably put to use.

Q: Even if you learned about production theory, where did you learn about directing?

Okuyama: I went to a double school and studied at the Film Academy of Fine Arts. I had fun. The art school.

Q: There are a lot of directors who graduated from art schools these days, including Koji Fukada.

Okuyama: When I was attending art school, Mr. Fukada was already a teacher. Although I didn't study with him directly, he often talked to me when I met him in the building and taught me many things. What you told me back then is helpful to me now. When I casually said, ``I'd like to go abroad to film festivals like Mr. Fukada,'' Mr. Fukada said, ``If you want to go to film festivals, you should avoid filming as much as possible.'' At that time, I wondered what this person was talking about.

But now I understand. The bottom line is that many foreign film festivals have categories for directors up to their second feature film, so if you shoot a feature film casually, it will be counted, and if you are serious about submitting your film to a film festival, then it will be counted. If it's your third film, you won't be able to enter the new director category, and you'll be immediately compared to the greats from other countries. So, if you're going to shoot a feature film, it's better to wait until you reach a level where you can aim for film festivals. In fact, at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, I was able to win an award in the new director category.

In addition to that, Mr. Fukada also mentioned something from the perspective of the French subsidy system, and I gradually came to understand both of these things after I actually started making films.

I want to directly reflect children's imaginations on film.