L/R15 “Nano Ai” “The cat ran away” Hideo Josada × Rikiya Imaizumi The fun of changing the script I wrote [Director's Interview Vol.195]

Director of photography: Masaki Watanabe and Yuko Hirami

Q: ``Even though it's love'' was shot in Cinema, and ``The Cat Runs Away'' was shot in Vista.The angles of view and looks were different and unique, which was also interesting.

Imaizumi: Even though it's a Vista, it's called a European Vista, and it's a bit cut off at the sides.

Josada: The setting is a second-hand bookstore, and I'm not one to make many cuts, so I thought if I shot it as is, it would be a full-fledged Imaizumi film. I needed to make a difference in the way I took the shot, so I chose cinemasco. I tried searching through the staff and asked, ``What does Imaizumi-gumi do?'' and they said ``European Vista,'' so I thought it was Imaizumi-san's usual style. I decided, ``Okay, this is Cinemasco.'' At first, for a moment, I was like, ``Okay, this is European Vista... no, wait!'' (lol). After thinking about it for a while, I decided on Cinemasco. Regarding the tone, I am conscious of creating a hard and dark impression. Since it was a special occasion, I wanted to create a different atmosphere, and the result was really good.

Imaizumi: This time, both photographers know each other, and are seniors and juniors at Waseda University.

Q: “It’s Love” was written by Masaki Watanabe, and “The Cat Ran Away” was written by Yuko Hirami. 

Imaizumi: Mr. Watanabe is currently filming a movie called ``Red Comet Club'' (17), and Miyu Teshima appears as the heroine. It was also interesting to feel like I knew someone like that. This is my first time working on a movie with Hirami-san, but before that we worked together on a short film for Nogizaka46, and he is a very flexible person.

“It’s Love” ©2021 “It’s Love” Film Partners

Q: Mr. Watanabe was in charge of the cinematography for `` Kimi ga Sekai no Hajimari '' (20, directed by Momoko Fukuda), and Mr. Hirami was in charge of the cinematography for ` `Shoujo Encounter '' (17, directed by Yuka Eda), right?

Josada: I also saw ``You Are the Beginning of the World'' and thought the art was really good. Mr. Watanabe was one of the candidates for filming from the producer, so I asked him to do it. He's really young. I was surprised that he was only 28 years old when the photo was taken. Still, regardless of age, they still have a craftsman quality to them, which was good. This is how we met and since then we have worked on about 3 movies together.

Q: I thought it was interesting that you could film a used bookstore in such a different way.

Josada: It was difficult to find it in used bookstores. After all, at first I did some location scouting for things like ``Old Books Bibibi.''

Imaizumi: Oh, you also saw “Bibibi”? This is the place where `` On the Street '' was filmed.

Josada: I saw it. But if it were there, it would just be ``on the street'' (lol). I was looking for something else to bring out the Showa feel that Imaizumi-san doesn't have.

Imaizumi: This time it's ``Shanshando.'' I thought the art club had played with the word ``jojo'' and made it ``jojodo'' (lol).

Josada: (laughs) That was originally ``Jojodo,'' a used bookstore in Mitaka.

From Compeito to Haribo