“Drainage” Director Masaya Takahashi x Producer Kazuya Shiraishi Until the script that was rumored in the industry sees the light of day [Director's Interview Vol.320]

Photographing children with a focus on sequential shooting

Shiraishi: As a director, what was the thing you were most particular about in this work, saying, ``I can't leave this out?''

Takahashi: It's the casting of sisters. At the core of the story, which involves stopping the water at the sisters' house, Iwakiri cannot be depicted well unless the sisters are depicted well. We worked very hard to find children who could play the sister roles.

Shiraishi: I've always been concerned about how to develop children. I was impressed by the attention to detail in filming the children's scenes in order.

Takahashi: I've been involved in a lot of movies and dramas that feature children, and I've often been in charge of children. I also have to take care of my children while filming, and I often have to share their meals and sleep with them, especially when shooting on location in a rural area. When you look at children up close like that, you can clearly see that their faces change completely from the beginning, middle, and end of the shoot. This time the shooting was over a short period of time, but I wanted to shoot sequentially as much as possible to capture their expressions at the time. That really resonated with me, so I asked the staff to let me shoot it in order.

“Drought” ©2022 “Drought” Production Committee

Shiraishi: Did director Shinji Somai (whom Takahashi worked with as an assistant director) do the same when filming children?

Takahashi: It's true that in the movies about Somai's children, you can feel the difference in their facial expressions between the top scene and the last scene. Also, in Jun Ichikawa's work sites, ``sequential shooting'' was an element that felt like a trick when using newcomers.

Shiraishi: While watching the scene, I thought that Mr. Takahashi probably had a lot more in his drawer, but are there any other projects that you have been working on for about 10 years?

Takahashi: As expected, it won't be for 10 years, but I have two projects that I've been working on for 4-5 years. But if we don't do it soon, another 10 years will pass (lol). There are some directors who make one film every 10 years.

(Editorial Department): This work was shot on film, and I heard that Mr. Shiraishi was the one who suggested shooting on film.

Takahashi: I was really happy about that. We grew up in film, so we have an idea of ​​how it will turn out, and we're very happy to be able to tell this story on film. I got into the story right away.

Shiraishi: I'm also a director, so I understand that shooting on film requires more budget and more set-up. This time I was in the position of a producer, but I wasn't in charge of the budget on set, so I thought it was necessary to pretend to be an idiot and say things like that. I thought it would be okay to have a producer in that role, so I suggested shooting on film. It may have been a bit of a nuisance for the people in charge of the scene, but I think the film was the correct answer in the end.

Reserve “Housui” now ↓

Director: Masaya Takahashi

Born in Akita in 1967. While building his career as an assistant director on works by Yoshitaro Negishi, Tomoaki Takahashi, Shinji Somai, Jun Ichikawa, Yoshimitsu Morita, Junji Sakamoto, and Kankuro Kudo, he also worked on films such as ``RED HARP BLUES'' (2002), ``Moon and Murder'' (10), He is the director of dramas such as ``Magmizer'' (Sky PerfecTV!, 2017). The director's latest work ``Ai no Komura Gaeri'' is scheduled to be released in early summer 2023.

Planning and production: Kazuya Shiraishi

Born in Hokkaido in 1974. Studied under director Koji Wakamatsu and participated in works by directors such as Isao Yukisada and Isshin Inudo as a freelance director. Made his feature debut with ``Lost Paradise in Tokyo'' (10). He has been in the spotlight for winning the 37th Japan Academy Award for Best Picture for ``Akutsu'' (13). ``The Baddest Guys in Japan'' (16), ``The Female Cats'', ``The Birds whose Names She Doesn't Know'' (all 17), ``Sunny/32'', ``Tiger-Wolf Blood'', ``Stopped'' He has won domestic and international acclaim for his directorial works such as ``What are we?'' (both 18 years old), ``Mahjong Wandering Chronicles 2020'', ``Nagi Waiting'', ``One Nigh'' (all 19 years old), and ``The Death Penalty Disease'' (22 years old). It swept film festivals and film awards. ``Tiger Wolf's Blood Level 2'' (21) won the most awards in 13 categories at the 45th Japan Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. "Kamen Rider BLACK SUN" is currently being distributed worldwide on Amazone Prime Video. One of the film directors leading the Japanese film industry.

Editing and composition: 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

"Drought"

Nationwide release on Friday, June 2nd

Distribution: KADOKAWA

©2022 “Drought” Production Committee