``A Town of People'' Director Shinji Araki The first thing I told Tomoya Nakamura was ``Eros.'' [Director's Interview Vol.75]

I want you to enjoy “I don’t know”

Q: The shot that captures Nakamura-san's profile at the beginning of this film was also impressive.

Araki: When I was making an independent film when I was a student, I used to shoot from the same angle. I didn't notice it while filming, but when I released the first issue, I suddenly noticed it. Maybe it's just a preference deep within me. It's like a person standing alone in a vast space, and the story begins from there.

This time, the director of photography, Hidetoshi Shinomiya, is really great, so we basically didn't specify any angles. At first, I decided that I would not draw storyboards. Instead, we adopted the traditional ``cut split'' method, which specifies ``lean'', ``pull'', ``cutback'', and ``bird's-eye view''.

However, there was a scene in the beginning that I had a clear image of, and I clearly said, ``I want to do this.'' Why, I feel happy when that cut resonates with me.

Q: It was wonderful both as visual information and as an effect to incorporate it into the work all at once. However, as you can see at the beginning of this film, you can see Tomoya Nakamura like never before.

Araki: I was surprised to see such a great response from Nakamura-san's fans after the information was released. I'm nervous about how this work will be received by everyone.

Of course, this is Nakamura-san's most attractive feature! That's what I think when I take pictures, but I want people to take the pictures home with a sense of reverberation, a chance to think, and a question mark. I don't mean this in an irresponsible way, but I want people to think that after watching it, it's fun to take home the feeling of, ``How should I take this?'' and ``I wonder what was going on.''

Q: I totally understand. I think movies that keep you chewing on them even after you've watched them remain in your heart.

Araki: I think that "empathy" is very much the basis of Japanese movies these days. The evaluation is based on being able to empathize and be moved. I really like that in itself, but it won't be interesting unless you develop more and more aspects that aren't like that.

So this time, I wrote the type of work that I most wanted to create, and I was very happy that it was selected for the award.

I myself have always enjoyed watching movies that I didn't understand, so I hope you can enjoy the feeling of being a little lost. Am I asking for too much? It would be great if I could go as far as ``proposing a new way to enjoy Japanese movies''.

Reserve “Ninjin no Machi” now↓

Director/Screenplay: Shinji Araki

Graduated from the Department of Representation and Culture, Faculty of Liberal Arts, University of Tokyo. Graduation thesis by Jacques Rivette. Worked on numerous commercials and music videos as a commercial planner and creative director. At the same time, he studied screenwriting and won the TV Asahi 21st Century Scenario Award for Excellence, the Scenario S1 Grand Prix Encouragement Award, the Isan Film Festival Scenario Award for Staff, and the MBS Radio Drama Award for Excellence. This will be his first full-length directorial role with this film, which was selected as the runner-up out of a total of 241 entries at the 1st Kinoshita Group New Directors Award.

Interview and text: SYO

Born in 1987. After The Graduate from Tokyo Gakugei University, he worked at a film magazine editorial production site and a film information site before becoming a film writer/editor. Works on a wide range of topics including interviews, reviews, columns, event appearances, and recommendation comments. Contributed to ``CINEMORE'', ``FRIDAY Digital'', ``Fan's Voice'', ``Eiga.com'', ``Cinema Cafe'', ``BRUTUS'', ``DVD & Video Distribution'', etc. Twitter「 syocinema 」

"A town of people"

September 4th (Friday) Shinjuku Musashinokan and other nationwide roadshows

(C)2020 “Number of People” Production Committee