Entrevista realizada e gentimente cedida por c7nema.net

1. Where did this story come from?
The idea for the story came from an amusing image I had of young girls (female high school students) unconsciously arguing their ethics and morals. I think the idea of “what goes around comes around” lies at the base of this story.

2. Why did you choose to film in black&white?
Now is always becoming the past. The present is only the past of the future. This film represents that in black and white. There is no use feeling sorry for yourself! We need to think more about our future. Although this message may not be easily transmitted to our viewers,
I though black and white would add more depth to the young girls’ behavior. I believe that there are a number of things that become more apparent in a black and white film, which the audience may not notice in color.

3. Who you say this is a new vague-styled film?
Because we live in a time where one can purchase high-end cameras for relatively cheap, I think the independent film style that we take will keep increasing. But, with the exception of the fact that we are using digital rather than film, I don’t think this is any different from the times of La Nouvelle Vague in that we work in small groups and with passion.

4. Did you expect to win Tokyo Film Festival and have your film in Sundance and Rotterdam?
Honestly, no I didn’t think it would. It was just meant to be a film to show people what I could do, but maybe my late grandfather helped me out in this journey.

5. Should there be a newspaper only with good news in real-life?
I think it would be something nice to have as a joke. But, I don’t think it is possible to actually make such a thing. Perception of happiness is different for everyone, so it would be impossible to make a newspaper that was 100% good news.
We live in a world where someone will think negatively of something that others think positively of, and I want that kind of difference in perception.

6. How much space did the actors have to play these characters and make these long conversations?
We started rehearsing about three months before principle photography. I was very picky about each action and movement, so I am sure the actors had a really tough time. The entire dialog is directly from the script; though we did occasionally change things in the morning before a shoot.

7. Were you tempted to place some color in the smoke that comes out of the chimney in the end?
Yes, I did think about that. But I felt that I wanted the viewers to focus on the subtle emotions of the characters rather than on visual elements.

8. Any news projects coming up?
My next film is about this Japanese Otaku couple that visits Tokyo in search of their long-lost friend. We are currently casting, and hope to start principle photography this winter.