“The Disappearance” Director Hiro Kano What is needed is an absolutely unwavering “feeling” [Director's Interview Vol.220]

The film ``The Disappearance'' was made almost entirely independently. What is noteworthy is the high level of visual expression. The uncompromising image-making that perfectly captures every corner of the screen, including the angle of view, color tone, camera work, and art, goes far beyond the realm of independently produced films. Additionally, the overall structure, in which the whole story is gradually revealed, shows a commitment to storytelling.

The film was directed by Hiro Kano, who is making his feature film debut. Director Kano studied under director Katsuto Ishii and built a career in the film and commercial industries. How was that experience utilized in the production of this film? I spoke to him.

Index

• We wanted to do it the way we wanted to do it.
• Movies and commercials: difference in sense
• A special site that goes beyond independent production
• There are some scenes that could not be filmed.
• An absolutely unwavering “feeling”
• David Fincher and Shunji Iwai

We wanted to do it the way we wanted to do it.

Q: The movie was released in February of this year, but I heard that it was filmed over five years ago. It was a long road to publication.

Kano: Since it was mostly an independent production, the production itself, including filming and editing, took time. From there, it took time to submit the film to a film festival, and by the time we got back from the film festival, the coronavirus pandemic hit...and the release was delayed as a result. As a result, it took a lot of time.

Q: You mentioned that it was mostly an independent production, but what led you to make the film?

Kano: Currently I am mainly working in the commercial industry, but before that I was mainly in the film industry. From that time on, I was working with a lot of friends, and we all said, ``We want to make our own movies.'' I had a lot of scripts I had written down, so I discussed with my friends which one of them we should turn into a movie. However, no matter what script we worked on, we wanted to do it the way we wanted to do it. If we can't do that because we have a sponsor, we'll do it with our own money. So staff members volunteered to help, and my agency (Nice Rainbow) helped out. Therefore, although it is not a completely independent production, I started making a film that I could do freely, which is why I started producing it independently.

“The Disappearance” (c) “The Disappearance” Production Committee

Q: So the script was chosen from among those that already existed.

Kano: After thinking about many things, including what I wanted to do and the friends who would be involved, I chose ``The Disappearance.'' ``The Disappearance'' was a scenario that was originally intended to be made into a stage play, so I had to rewrite it quite a bit for the movie.

Movies and commercials: difference in sense