Junji
Sakamoto burst onto Japan's indie film scene in 1989 with his feature
debut Knock Out! He has since been regarded as one of Japan's
most offbeat, hilarious directors. Filmfestivals.com met up with
Sakamoto
at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, where he presented
his latest feature, Face.
The young director then headed to South Korea, where his film screened
this week in the "Window on Asian Cinema" sidebar at the
Pusan International Film Fesival.

This
is your ninth picture since Knock Out in 1989... What changes
have you gone through since that time?

My
evolution has been very slow... My failures and errors have been
condoned ... I see myself as a director of action films, neither
young nor old, not a veteran either... The directors of the generation
prior to mine belonged to the big studios, they became directors
through apprenticeship; the present generation of independent directors
do not come from the big studios and often do not study filmmaking
anymore before tackling direction. I stand somewhere in-between
these two generations.

Japanese
films often go towards the abstract... You seem to be more grounded
in reality, keeping the story dialogue-driven...

Yes,
dialogues are even more important to me than the elaboration of
the story. I always ask myself "What does this character think of?
What is he thinking now?" This is very important to me. Dialogues
direct me through my films.

How
far was Naomi Fujiyama, a famous stage actress in Japan, involved
in the creation of the story?

I am
really fond of her technique and talent as a comic actress. Her
use of pause is beyond comparison and makes her a fabulous all-rounder
in the field of acting. But despite her talent, she has not acted
in many films. This is more or less her first film experience. She
had played a few small roles when she was still very young. I wanted
to bring freshness to the film by using her specific talents. She
knows how to make us enjoy what's happening in the film. Yet, in
her private life, she is a rather reserved and shy person. This
contrast really struck me and I thought it would be very interesting
to make a film with her.

This
film takes us far from Tokyo to the deep south of Japan. Do you
think Japanese films steer too close to Tokyo?

I've
never really cared to use my films to depict Tokyo. There are a
few scenes shot in Tokyo at the beginning of the film, but I don't
show you skyscrapers nor the typical urban aspects of Tokyo. I was
more interested in conveying a "neighborhood" feel. And to tell
this story, I wanted to get out of Tokyo, and make the audience
embark on a journey both real and imaginary.

You've
never really been interested in promoting your films at festivals.
What does this selection in official competition represent for you?

Well,
it's hardly possible to take part in festivals if films are not
selected! But it's true that I never really wished to take part
in festivals, whereras it has become customary now in Japan to make
a film, present it at a festival, and then capitalize on the publicity
made around it to turn it into a commercial success. My films, though,
are not targeted at foreign audiences, and I don't necessarily see
festival competition as a natural way of meeting a foreign audience.
Yet, Face is competing at San Sebastian because the directors
of the festival saw the film in a screening of the Cannes Market.
And they liked my film and selected it. It happened very naturally
so I have to say I'm really delighted to be here.

Robin
Gatto