Film director Takeshi Kamei

I want students to find something they can pursue for the rest of their lives while they are still students.

Film director Takeshi Kamei

■ Profile
Born January 1969, 9.Born in Osaka Prefecture.
He graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Osaka University of Arts and completed his studies at Kanazawa Institute of Art. In 2001, he switched from visual arts to filmmaking. He directs films with a style that combines documentary and drama, with themes of travel and music. His directorial debut was "Chandmani: To the Origin of Mongolian Khoomei" (2009), which was themed around Mongolian throat singing. His second film, "Guitar Madagascar" (2014), which focused on the lives and music of the people of Madagascar, was also screened in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, in 2016. This is his third film as a director.

The movie "Vata - Box or Body". Kamei Gaku, who directed and wrote the screenplay for the film, said, "This film is about the relationship between people," and that the film depicts "the relationship between people and those who have passed away." We spoke to Kamei about what inspired him to start making films, his thoughts on this film, and what the highlights of the film are.

■Video production began with recording the work

I originally studied sculpture while studying at Kanazawa College of Art. However, during that time I was not able to create any works that I was satisfied with. After graduating from graduate school, I started working as an art teacher at a junior high school on the Noto Peninsula, where I created an installation work in the school's judo hall that shaped the space itself. Since the work was a temporary exhibition, I needed to record it, so I filmed the production process with my own video camera and edited it into a five-minute video.
At that time, I felt like "Maybe I can continue making works with this feeling," and so I started making video works as artwork. Although I was able to create works that I was satisfied with, I began to think that people should "look at it more properly," rather than standing and watching halfway through like in a museum or gallery, or stopping halfway through. In a movie theater, people sit from start to finish, so I thought that people would watch a movie properly, which was a strange motivation for me to think about making a movie (laughs).

■ The struggles and joys of making a film

I've made all three films overseas so far, so I've had to continue filming in harsh locations that aren't as well-equipped as those in Japan. Even if I got sick, I had to manage it myself, and there were times when I had to get several people in between to communicate with the locals. The toughest time was while filming in Madagascar. I was bitten all over by ticks, but there was no anti-itch cream available there, so I had sleepless nights due to the itching. Even now, when I think back on it, it was really tough. There are many fun and difficult things about making a film. It's not as easy as just having fun and finishing the film, but I'm happy that I can label everything as "fun" because I'm basically doing what I love.

■This work is possible because of the previous work

I've loved Malagasy music since my student days, and that's what inspired me to make my previous film, "Guitar Madagascar." I knew that Malagasy music itself was connected to the rituals and ways of thinking of the land, but while filming there, I realized there was an even deeper meaning to it: that "Madagascan music itself exists as a way to communicate with our ancestors." That wasn't the theme of "Guitar Madagascar," so I'd always hoped to have the opportunity to tackle it again at a different time, and I think that's what led to this film.
and,"Vata - Box or BodyThe impetus for making "The Box" came from an encounter I had with someone carrying a "box," which is the theme of this film, during the filming of my previous work. The two works are connected in the same vein, but while my previous work was a fusion of documentary and drama, this work is fiction with fantasy elements, so the way it was made is a little different.

■ Memorable episodes during filming

When we went into the mountains to film and I was alone with the actor playing the ancestor, I was clearing trees with a hatchet to improve visibility. Then, perhaps thinking I was going to be killed, the actor ran away. We spent the whole day searching for him, but in the end we couldn't find him, so we had to recast him. It would have been nice if we had had someone from Malagasy there, but I couldn't speak the language, so I feel bad about that.
Speaking of fun episodes, they really love music, and even when it rained and they couldn't film, they all played and enjoyed themselves. There's a scene in the film where they play, and the performance was even more fun than in the film. When we think of music, we tend to think of it as being divided into performers and listeners. But for them, music is a state in which everyone shares the same space, whether they're playing or not, just listening or dancing. That feeling of being one is truly wonderful. I wanted to express that in the film.

■ I want you to grasp "what is most important" through this work

This film depicts "relationships between people, and between people and those who have passed away." In reality, we cannot see people who have passed away, but they do appear in this film. We live in an age where we are bound by invisible things such as the Internet. In this way, invisible things have been deeply connected to our lives, both in the past and now. However, I would like people to feel what is the most important thing among them. I would especially like to hear the impressions of students.
This film depicts music and views on life and death in Madagascar. It is a story about a distant country, but it is not something alien or distant at all; rather, I think its highlight is that it is a film that is familiar to us. We Japanese have a concept of ancestors. So, although our lifestyles are completely different from those in Madagascar, we all share the same wish that our deceased ancestors could become our ancestors and that we could meet them. I think that the way that music makes this wish a reality is easy for us living in Japan to imagine.

■Message to students

I feel that most of what I am doing now is based on the things I encountered and faced when I was a university student. The experiences I had back then are everything, and I feel like I am creating art to unravel what they were. That's why now is a very important time for students. I want you to find what it is you are truly seeking. There are many ways to find what you are seeking right now. I believe that you will pursue that something for the rest of your life.

Student Newspaper Online July 1, 2024 Interview by Toyo University sophomore Rinno Koshiyama

★Event to commemorate the theatrical release★Held in Osaka and Tokyo!