"The Birds Sing at Night" Director Hideo Shirosada I have no choice but to do what I can [Director's Interview Vol.268]

Is it interesting or not?

Q: Recently, I have had many opportunities to see Josada's works, and I have the impression that there have been a lot of them this year in particular. Will we be able to continue at this pace?

Josada: It just happened that there were a lot of releases this year. All works take two to three years to complete, but due to the coronavirus, schedules have shifted and overlapped. I don't think I will concentrate on this much in the future.

Q: I get the impression that you're working on a variety of works that cross genres and have no relation to the original work. Is there anything you like about yourself?

Josada: I've always been the type of person who likes to do everything, so naturally the number of genres will increase. When it comes to original or original, both have their own merits. With the original, it's easier to express my own feelings, and the original creator doesn't have to tell me all sorts of things (lol). But if it's not interesting, you can't blame the original, so there's no escape. In that sense, I guess I'm more impressed when the original version is made. On the other hand, when I read original works, I get to come up with ideas that I would never come up with on my own, and it's interesting to cook the ingredients, so my style changes. I think both are interesting.

Q: Is there a particular point behind the fact that even though he has worked on such a wide variety of projects, you can still feel the color of director Josada in each of his works?

Josada: I think there are some things that are ingrained in us. I've been doing it for 20 years and have shot 100 films, so I think things like that will come naturally. Every time I shoot, I adjust to the actors and the atmosphere of the scene. Even if you read a book in a conference room beforehand, the atmosphere will be completely different when you put on your costume, put on your make-up, and go to the filming location. We always have one thing in common: we don't harden things too much in advance. Well, it's a hands-on approach.

“The Birds sing at night” © 2022 Clockworks

Q: Objectively, I feel like it's getting more and more interesting and the quality is continuing to improve. Are there any areas where you feel that way yourself?

Josada: That may be true, but I don't think about it that much. After all, it depends on each work, so you can't generalize about "quality." If the image is beautiful, does it mean it's high quality? It's difficult to determine the standard for that. In the end, I think the most important thing is whether it's interesting or not.

Q: Please tell us about the directors and films that have influenced you.

Josada: The reason I wanted to enter the film industry was because I liked Nikkatsu Roman Porno. I feel that a movie made in such a poor system really appeals to me. In terms of directors, they are Tatsumi Kamishiro and Yoshitaro Negishi. Federico Fellini and Emir Kusturica in foreign films. I like stories about poor people who are cheerful and enthusiastic (lol).

Q: Mr. Negishi, in your early days you were shooting romantic porn, but in the latter half of your career you have also worked on many major blockbusters. Do you have a favorite work?

Josada: If anything, I prefer the early version. I might not like ``Kachojima Kosaku'' (1992) that much (lol). He also makes films that I have never seen before, such as `` Uhoho Exploration Party '' (1986), and works from that period, such as `` Distant Thunder '' (1981), are also good. Mr. Negishi is good at shooting both romantic porn and blockbusters. So there are things that I aspire to.

Reserve “The Birds Sing at Night” now↓

Director: Hideo Shirosada

Born September 2, 1975 in Tokyo. Started making 8mm films while attending Musashino Art University. After The Graduate from the same school, he built a career as a freelance assistant director, focusing on adult films and V-cinema. In 2003, she made her debut as a director with the film ``Tasteful Housewives (Oshiore)'' and won the Pink Award for Best New Director. Since then, he has directed over 100 titles including V-cinema, pink movies, and theatrical movies. It won the Pink Grand Prize for Best Picture for four consecutive years in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. ``Alps Stand no Hashi no Kata'' released in 2020 was an unprecedented hit in the mini theater series. The film won numerous accolades, including first-day satisfaction rating (Filmarks research), TAMA Film Festival Special Award, Kinema Junpo Top Ten Top Ten, and Motion Picture Art Top Ten Third Place. He won the director's award at the film festival and the Japan Film Professional Awards. In 2022, other works by the director such as ``It's Love'', ``I Want to Be Killed by a High School Girl'', and ``Beliebers'' will be released in 2022, and from 2023 onwards, ``Koi no Ibara'' (scheduled for release in January 2023), `` "Ginpeicho Cinema Blues" (scheduled for release in February 2023) and many other works currently being filmed or waiting for release.

Interview and text: Fumio Koda

Editorial staff and writer for CINEMORE. My favorite movies are ``The Goonies'' and ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'' My recent favorites are 4K digitally remastered classics by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu.

Photography: Kazunari Aoki

"The Birds sing at night"

December 9th (Friday) Shinjuku Piccadilly and other nationwide releases

Distribution: Clockworks

© 2022 Clockworks