PRESS CONFERENCE HIROKAZU KORE-EDA
One of the most significant figures of Japanese cinema, director Hirokazu Kore-Eda, gave a press conference on Thursday, November 25th, at Warehouse C of the Thessaloniki Port. A retrospective tribute to his work will be screened in the framework of the New Horizons section. Hirokazu Kore-Eda is a revelation of the New Horizons section, which had originally screened his first film Maborosi, that later went on to receive international acclaim at every festival it was shown at. Having shot three more films, Kore-Eda returns to the New Horizons section with a retrospective tribute to his works.
“We became familiar with his work for the first time in 1995”, said the Director of the New Horizons section, Dimitri Eipides, who expressed his joy for Kore-Eda’s visit to Thessaloniki, especially now that he’s becoming famous. “Kore-Eda is one of the most important Asian filmmakers internationally”, added Mr. Eipides. His latest film, Nobody knows, was screened at the Cannes Festival winning rave reviews from the critics as well as the Best Actor Award for the 12 year-old star Yagira Yuya.
Working with children
Most of the questions at the press conference revolved around his new film regarding the true story of four children that were abandoned by their mother and managed to live by themselves for a year. The experience of working with children actors was rather special for the director but the children as well. “Every child has its own character and during the year of shooting the film we had many fights and rivalries. It was a wonderful experience for all of us though. The children had their good and bad moments but in the end they became like siblings”, Kore-Eda said.
Regarding the award from the Cannes Festival, Kore-Eda said, “All the children were happy and really shared it amongst them”. Mr. Kore-Eda said the film is based on a true story that happened in Tokyo 16 years ago. “I’ve been thinking about it for 15 years. I didn’t just want to portray the facts though. When I decided to make the film my intention was to avoid portraying the sadness and pitiful situation of the children. This doesn’t mean that the children were strong, extremely intelligent or able to cope with anything. On the contrary, they were vulnerable and weak”, said Mr. Kore-Eda.
Documentaries
Besides his four films, Kore-Eda has also shot 15 documentaries. “I don’t want to create heroes or anti-heroes in my films. I try to see people for what they really are. I respect them. For me there is no black or white. My world is grey, a mixture”, he said. Regarding his style, Mr. Kore-Eda said, “Although I shoot fiction films, I strive for a documentary viewpoint. Documentaries define the way I use the camera adding the element of reality”.
