|
Q6. How did you manage to organize
the Kansai International Film Festival?
A. Originally I was putting
together some screenings of my films and Matthew Kaufman,
an writer for Kansai Time Out Magazine suggested we combine
my screening with one KTO was trying to put together. So we
had a lot of Japanese films made by foreigners, so the concept
of the festival developed from there. After that, Ayumi Okada,
the festival coordinator and I went searching for a location
to hold the event. We met many people in the industry and
eventually met Kiyomaro Kawano, the director of the Osaka
branch of the Short Shorts Film Festival. He then helped us
meet the people in Osaka-fu and everything just fell in to
place from there.
Kansai Film
Official website: http://www.kansaifilm.com
P ress kit: http://kansaifilm.dariru.com/kiffpresskit.rar
Q7. Is it a big challenge for you
to work as a filmmaker and photographer in Japan? Tell me
about it.
A. It is challenging. I
guess one of the most challenging factors is the language
barrier. While my Japanese isn't bad, it isn't perfect, so
its not extremely easy to meet people and be taken seriously.
So it makes it more challenging to make films, but not impossible.
Taking photos isn't difficult because they can be published
anywhere in the world. Actually I have an advantage over most
native Japanese photographers in that I can speak English
and get in touch with magazines abroad that don't have easy
access to photos of Japan. So the language problem works both
ways.
Q8. Any funny/horrible stories about
working in Japan?
A. Oh lots. And I'm gonna
be a salesman and say, "Come out and see my movies and
you can see what they are!" You can see some of my experiences
and my friends experiences in my film Rodosha. I'm also in
pre-production on a film called One Fine Day (temp title)
that is a funny look on some of my experiences and again my
friends experiences teaching English in Japan.
Q9. What are your goals for future?
A. I love Japan, that is
the reason I came here to begin with. In university, I started
studying Japanese language and then ended up coming to the
country 3 times. I just found something very intriguing and
comfortable here. So my goal would be to continue in Japan
and move on to making feature length films. I would like to
be able to contribute to Japanese society and film in a positive
way and help bring more international stories home (to Japan)
and show the world more about Japan. So my major goal would
be to help DK PRO grow into a production company in Kobe,
to produce feature films, continue with Cinema Kansai (an
independent film magazine with the first issue out soon),
and make some films that could be entertaining and revitalize
Japanese aesthetics in an international way.
Q10. What is your favorite Japanese
words?
A. Sumimasenkedo.
Q11. Message to WhyNot!? users!
A. For the foreigners out
there wanting to really see Japan, stick it out the first
few years, and by your third year you can truly enjoy this
very interesting and beautiful country. Don't begin to think
of yourself as a "foreigner." Just remember we are
all human beings, and behind the culture and custom we have
the same hearts, thoughts and desires.
Please check my site for more info: http://www.dariru.com |
