In December 2022, France’s largest Japanese film festival “KINOTAYO” (Kinotayo) was held. kinotayo began in 2006 with the aim of promoting contemporary Japanese cinema in France, and this year marks its 16th edition. The main venue is the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris, located near the Eiffel Tower.
I look forward to this film festival every year. Although we live in an age where we can watch many Japanese films online from the comfort of our homes, nothing can compare to the joy of seeing them in a movie theater. Unfortunately, I was not able to see all of them, but I focused on the opening and closing films and those whose production teams were at the festival.
The films screened at the festival are selected mainly from new works that are less than 18 months old or that are being screened for the first time in France. This year’s competition included seven films, one for the opening and one for the closing screenings, as well as seven documentaries by Kazuhiro Soda.
Director Kazuhiro Soda has a close relationship with KINOTAYO, and this year’s feature was based on the theme “Japan Unknown. The director and producer came to the venue for greetings, a Q&A session, and a special lecture.
Director Soda’s films are documentaries without prior meetings or scripts, and without narration, subtitles, or music, but simply by “observing” the subject matter. I am so used to being “given information” by the filmmaker that I was at first a bit confused, but as I concentrated on watching the films with a feeling of straightening my spine, I gradually became one with the director’s point of view, and each film, including the ones I saw again, left a deep impression on me.
In particular, “Spirit” and its sequel, “Spirit 0,” were the two films that left the greatest impression on me this time. What I strongly felt after watching these two films together was simply that “people are amazing just by being alive. I also felt the challenges of the modern psychiatric system and the importance of people connecting with each other to compensate for these challenges.
I wondered how the French people would perceive Japan through the eyes of director Soda, whose image of Japan is probably quite different from the general image of Japan, but as I listened to the Q&A session with the production team, I realized that there were many core fans. I felt that there were many core fans of the film. Director Soda’s latest film, “Spirit 0,” was released in France on January 4.
Director Ryota Nakano’s “The Asada Family! is based on the true story of Masashi Asada, a photographer who gained attention for his unique family portraits. During the serious scenes, there were a few tears here and there. But the audience burst into laughter during the final scene! During the Q&A session with the production team, there were comments such as “I took pictures of my family after seeing this film,” and “I was going to sell my camera but decided not to because my smartphone is good enough. I guess the theme of “family” attracts people’s hearts regardless of nationality.
The festival was held over 12 days, and the award-winning films were as follows.
© Source travel watch