DOHA: Award-winning Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase (pictured) shared her spiritual and philosophical journey into her life and outlook as she highlighted her experiences in making films at Qumra.
A Qumra Master, whose film The Mourning Forest was shown as part of the Modern Masters Screenings at the annual industry event of Doha Film Institute, Kawase said she did not grow up watching films nor did she have the environment that would have nurtured her into a filmmaker.
Her films have a strong autobiographical element. Her earlier works included documentary tributes to her grandmother, who raised her. Having ignored her grandfather’s request to record his voice while he was on his death bed, she recorded the last moments of the elderly woman, turning it into “something universal to be shared with others.”
Stating that she does not see her films as a diary, Kawase said how anyone responds to these situations is unique to individuals. “The images and memories we record within ourselves are very different in each person. A writer and filmmaker’s role is to interpret these memories and encounters in life. We are spending the same time here on earth but the memory of time elapsed is different. With movies, you can distort the reality in front of you but you can also get the right perception of what is happening. As a filmmaker you are tested on those terms.”
She advised filmmakers to learn the value of patience in filming. “Taking time to film is a characteristic of my films. Today, you can perhaps control it with latest technologies. But to me, the waiting for things you cannot get hold of right now, your desire for that experience... that is also important. After all, if you want to watch a cherry blossom, you have to wait until spring.”
She said the reason she makes films is not driven by money. “There is no guarantee of monetary success for films, and if a film does not bring returns, a director can be out of work for five to six years. But that is a risk worth taking. If the director has the will, he or she will find the producer. I have been creating films only I can make, and that is the reason of my continuity in creativity. More than money, the reason I make films is that there are things I want to leave behind.” Having launched a film festival in Nara, Kawase said she is telling the young generation of the world that they can also do something in their hometown. “That is similar to what you are doing in Doha with Qumra; you have filmmakers from all over the world. But why here? That is because we want to hand down culture to our young generation.” On women in films, she said since there are relatively fewer women filmmakers, “you have the opportunity to make yourself visible before you can make an impact. Initially, it is difficult but once you clear the first hurdles, you will have increasing support coming to you. You have to make your efforts before you can do anything — be it in any profession. You have to take a positive view on life.” The Peninsula
