"The Pearl Diver's Tale - 海女の珠取り物語" NorthWest Film Forum Cadence 2020 "Wild Card" Honorable mention award winner

4/22/2020

*I re-checked and added text in English (4/23).*

The Pearl Diver's Tale - After Hokusai's Ama to Tako
https://www.centralgame.org/the-pearl-divers-tale---after-hokusais-tako-to-ama.html

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"The Pearl Diver's Tale - 海女の珠取り物語 - 北斎の海女と蛸に基づいて" が、
NorthWest Film Forum Cadence 2020 "Wild Card" Honorable mention award winner を受賞しました。いい映画祭だったし、久しぶりの制作だったので、とにかく完成し、上映出来ただけでも満足でした。
この映画は、相変わらず自費制作の制限はあるけれど、五年ぶりに撮りたいと思えたもので、美和さんや、舞さんという素晴らしいダンサーとの出会いもあり、すごく特別な作品になりました。
今後とも、上映の機会を作って行きたいと思っています。
https://nwfilmforum.org/news/cadence-video-poetry-festival-2020-online-announces-award-winning-films-including-sue-sada-was-here-as-best-in-show/

Thank you so much for making the place to see the cinema, @nwfilmforum!
and other theatres which are still providing great arts in such a hard time!

I was really excited to join the festival that people made effort to screen films and let people enjoy poetry. Cadence2020 also had window screenings for passers-by and Zoom online meeting, it was full of hope for me.

In recent 5 years, I couldn't make films nor even watch films.
Though when I was a teenagers or twenty-agers, I watched 4-or 5 films a day.
I was really empty and sad to live without the purpose, but God left exceptional films to me.

I could watch really few film / Cinemas ("Cinema" means "real film," not movie). Especially in New York, Cinema-theatrical experiences were quite rich.
I watched 10 Claire Denis Films in BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). and North American Mubi. Dennis Cooper's "Permanent Green Light" in Spectacle. and Long day's journey Into Night (3D / at Metrograph).
I also saw Claire Denis Herself in Institut français du Japon and Athénée Français, Japan and watched two new films, asked her most favorite word, so I put it in this article again. ( I once wrote about it but I deleted my previous 7-years-long Blog before, so)

I could go to Gashima Cinema in Sado, too. It's the only theatre in Sado Island.

I also saw Marguerite Duras and Wong Kar Wai and Keisuke Kinoshita on real screen in last 5 years.

These films made me super relax. Especially, Bi Gan's film was really new and awesome.
And I could believe that film or Cinema accept me anytime if only I'd like to join.

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But of course, film making itself is impossible if there weren't people who collaborated with me.
They were really really talented (including Marie Brassard, who introduced Miwa to me).
I couldn't call them without destiny, so I have been waiting, then, I met Miwa in the show of Dumb Type including legendary "Lovers". It's strange but, life is full of miracles.

and theme is also important. I should feel familiar and believe that I have a right to make a film with it.
About the legend that I worked as motif, it's also a kind of destiny or long relationship.
I have written about that legend in the book 3 years ago as my ideal story.
I heard the tale that is really similar to the Pearl Diver's Tale from one of my friends who I don't have any connections now more than 10 years ago.
But I couldn't find the source of the tale till 2020.

Because I heard that legend about "three sacred treasures taken by Dragon King" is related to "The tale of Heike" which I told the person at that time as the story that I'd like to make a film someday,
(because no one made the perfect film containing the spirituality of Japanese. - Of course I knew the film of greatest Kenji Mizoguchi, but only about "Heike", I couldn't be satisfied with his work.. Though this desire had been disappeared later, because of Yoshiki Kobayashi's "Kwaidan"'s "Hoichi without ears"''s way. Additionally I understood that the format of movie for Japanese to work with such kinds of old tale with our spirituality. I mean, that great films' genre had to be "Horror" .)
But as you know, it was about Fuhito Fujiwara, in Asaka period (The first Japanese historical period as the nation).

When I read Shin Yu's poem and I recognized that there were really similar tale that I had heard before... It was that sacred treasure's story.
Maybe for me, there are also necessity form to make same theme. That was more ancient, more fantastic. Though I still would like to make the film of "Heike" in the style like S-H's "Bach". But it will be really difficult to reach my purpose if I begin "I'd like to make "Heike". People must imagine Historical drama. But I rather would like to film the scene that people fall in the ocean in really fine details. So for most people, it doesn't make sense. Cast also doesn't wanna perform in my film. Because their face can't be showed up. But for me, it's so sacred, historical sight. it is of course not the reality, but the Vertical Vision.

So I had a courage to step in the holy field.
And thank you so much for accepting me, Ocean.

I continue editing the film, "The Pearl Diver's Tale".

and also making the film with Ryusuke Yamai, and thinking about writing the novel or research document about healer.