What is director Yuka Eda's approach to guiding the two lead actors with their strong personalities? ``Shoujo Encounter'' [Director's Interview Vol.15]

All the pictures I wanted to take were put into words.

Q: Please tell me about the structure of the film. While the film depicts the real daily life of high school girls, it also contains elements of fantasy such as the metaphor of silkworms. I think that if you take one wrong step, it will become very cheap, but the finished film is not like that at all. I think it is very difficult to strike that balance.

Eda: This is the story of "Ohara Miyuri" played by Hosoi, so the story begins from her point of view. And she appears almost throughout the entire movie. I talked with the director of photography about how she becomes increasingly narrow-minded due to her preconceptions, and how I wanted to shoot the narrowing of her thinking from a subjective perspective. I wanted to shoot in a way that was as similar to her mental state as possible.

Also, the bullying scenes were shot from a distance. I love Edward Yang, and in his works, he only shoots from a distance when he wants to stir up despair. The audience doesn't know what's going on, but there is a world unfolding only for the people involved. In the end, you can't intervene in bullying, and the person being bullied feels alone. By shooting from a distance, I was able to show that powerlessness and despair. I wanted the viewer to be able to see things from her point of view.

On the other hand, I deliberately avoid getting too close to Tsumugi Tomita, played by Motola, and make it difficult to understand her actions.

Q: You mentioned Edward Yang, but there are many scenes that are full of homage to films like " All About Lily Chou-Chou " and " Hana and Alice ," which are probably your favorite films. How did you discuss this with cinematographer Yuko Hirami?

Eda: I gave Hirami about 10 movies to watch for reference, including "All About Lily Chou-Chou." At the time, he said, "Okay, I'll watch them," but the shocking truth is that he hadn't actually seen any of them.

Q: Huh? Really?

Eda: I found out later that she hadn't actually seen it. "If I watch it, I'll end up wanting to imitate it." So when it was released, she told me, "I understand what you want to do, but I didn't see it." My taste in movies is completely different from Hirami's to begin with. She told me clearly that she doesn't like the kind of pictures shot by Noboru Shinoda (the cinematographer who has worked on many of Shunji Iwai's films, including All About Lily Chou-Chou).

Q: But the movie is completely in Shinoda's tone.

Eda: Rather than doing it like Shinoda-san, we always talked about what we wanted to do with this intention. For example, I don't like clear images, so I don't want to draw the outlines clearly, so I'll use Smoke, and I'll use Smoke and blur this part with light, and Hirami is a smart guy, so he did it that way.

Also, just like Edward Yang, I verbalized each and every reason why I shoot long shots. Even when the staff didn't understand what I wanted to shoot, they came in as the director of photography and said something like, "This is the intention behind it, so it's necessary."

Q: It's a film that really encapsulates what you wanted to do as a director.

Eda: What's more, the cameraman shoots the movie without even seeing the one the director wants to make (laughs).

Q: Finally, what kind of films do you want to make in the future?

Eda: In 2018, thanks to this film, I received more offers to appear in music videos and various other works featuring girls. I was very happy and fulfilled. But in 2019, I want to film not only girls, but also men. I really want to film people, regardless of gender. Also, because this film started to attract young people, I would like to make a film that young people will want to watch next time.

Q: I'm looking forward to seeing you on the big screen again. Thank you very much.

Eda: Thank you very much.

Watch "Girl Encounter" now

Director and screenwriter: Yuka Eda

Born on March 2, 1994 in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture.

His directorial work "Goodbye Spica" (2013) won the Audience Award and Special Jury Award at the 26th Waseda Film Festival. The following year, his film "Delicious, Rotten" (2014) won the Audience Award at the 27th Waseda Film Festival. He has been involved in filmmaking since his university days, and has worked on the special footage for director Yamashita Nobuhiro's "Over Fence" (2016), as well as directing music videos for Toketa Denkyu, STU48, Takai Ibuki, and others. His other work includes still photography, making-of, and assistant direction for "ViVi" and "Soen," among others.

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.

"Girl Encounter"

January 16, 2019 (Wednesday)

Blu-ray & DVD release

<Blu-ray [package fully supervised by director Yuka Eda]>

Price: ¥5,800 + tax / Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray / Product code: PCXP.50618

＜DVD＞

Price: ¥3,800+tax / 1 DVD / Product code: PCBP.53868

<Recording time>

Main feature approx. 101 minutes + video bonus

*Video bonuses are only available on Blu-ray

＜Blu-ray exclusive bonus＞

Specifications: Outer case

・Included bonus: Special 52-page photo book

・Video extras: Making of

*The above bonus features will not be included with the DVD product; it will only include the main disc.

Publisher/distributor: Pony Canyon

(C)2017 "Girl Encounter" Film Partners