I'll be on the TV show.
I'm having the interview.
But what TV program is this???

I don't watch TV, so the crew staff was trying hard to explain to me.
The man in the picture was the interviewer.
And the elderly on my right is a great man like coming from other planet.
Now I'm making a documentary on him!

Turn off the engine.
From the house,
Son: "She's home" (crying out)
To the doorstep, running on the hallway...
And jump!
Held him in my arms.

"Missed you so much"

"Tap-tap," tapping gently on the shoulders each other...
Gazing at each other...

Son: "Mommy, congratulations"
So full of deep emotion!

This is yours now.

Kuki Ningyo.
A new film by Koreeda-san.
Sorry, everyone in Japan! I watched it before you all.
And I got taken aback by finding my rival!? (some critics call "mental brothers/sisters")
The film made me cry.

The film affirms the significance of human beings; to have mind and feeling is painful, but at the same time, affectionate.

The film got into my heart and grabbed my sentiment. It's such a film.

  I filmed "The Mourning Forest" in 2007 based on my own experience of caring my adopted mother.
But 37 years before the film, there was a masterpiece of novel which describes problems of nursing care from an individual viewpoint.
And so here goes:

  A book fair called "Otona no Jikan" has selected my book review that I wrote for the novel "The Twilight Years."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended by Film Director Kawase Naomi
Timeless Masterpiece!

Nursing care is a matter of women.
To accomplish things we challenge...
I admire such women.
(an omission: please find out the rest of it at bookstores)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The books will be lined up soon in bookstores, so please take a look at a shelf for Shinchosha Publishing.

Director Suwa-san is here too.
It's been a long time since we met!
Suwa-san: "junior-high, already"
Kawase: "Really? My son was around 5 years old, then"

Talking about our kids...
I remember Suwa-san was studying in Paris with his family, his wife Hisako-san and their kids.
Remember!
I met him before then.

Time flies so fast!
His new film (though I haven't seen it yet) seems really great.
And the main actress is so cute.
She has clear beautiful skin...

Attending the screening & award ceremony.
Interviews by Japanese media from the very early morning.
And a ceremonial photo with an interviewer of the talk session.



Lunch invited by Cinematheque Francaise.
And so on and on...done with many events...
But after all, Cannes is a place for a new start for me.
And a place to have new ideas.

Coming back to the ocean of southern France gives me a time to think of film and life.
Feel somewhat lonesome, somewhat passionate, somewhat...

Lets head back to Japan.
To Nara..

Arrived in Cannes.
Meeting with Nakamura Yuko.
Make a toast with Shingha beer. You know why?


 
Since the restaurants here and there were all booked up, we got in a small Thai restaurant at a street corner.
But it's just in front of a train station, and I really like this kind of small restaurants which serve delicious rice dishes. I got into rice twelve years ago while I was working on "Suzaku."
One of the nearest parking places turns into a marketplace on Sundays, and it reminds me of buying an orange sweater there on a cold day years ago.



Walking on Croisette Street.
Beautiful, the red carpet.
Nakamura Yuko said, "It's not a long carpet than I imagined."
Yes. All the people say the same thing.
The red carpet is not so big.
It's because of the technique of photography which makes it look gorgeous.

And I checked a preparation for screening "Hotaru," and I got surprised with the quality of the image and sound of the screening!
It's a digital screening, and the system is called "2K," but it's not famous in Japan yet...
I think, when the cost goes down, Japanese theaters will adopt this system because the quality is as good as you cannot tell the difference from film screening.

And the evening goes on...

Thank you for all your warm messages...
They made me feel fresh.
I'm fine in Cannes!

I left Japan wearing a mask from Kansai Airport a day before the award ceremony.
I always take a flight with a stopover in Europe, but I tried in Dubai this time.
It's very comfortable.
Because it flies during the night, and I can sleep all the way to Dubai...
On the ceiling of the Emirates airplane, you can see blue sky and stars.
And champagne.

I'm a radio DJ now.
It's Alpha Station, FM in Kyoto. This radio station is really great and the staff is all nice.
I'm a layman as a DJ but they take a good care of me.
I listen to the Alpha Morning Kyoto in my car while taking my son to preschool every morning, and the DJ Mr. Sato Hiroki called me, "we are DJ comrades." It was my honor.
He requested me, "please tell us many stories about film!"

I still don't know much about film.
And so, "I'm afraid," I replied.

This is Sato-san in the photo.
He tells us good stories all the time.
I learn lots of things from him!

And the chief executive and staff gave me flowers in celebration of the Cannes award.


Wow!

When I saw the flowers, I thought someone famous would visit.
But they just started clapping their hands to me.
I was so happy.
They were so warm and kind.

And Mr. Oishi, the manager of UA, appeared at the break during recording.
He visited to announce UA's new album which will be released on July 22.
Wait...
July 22 is the day of total solar eclipse!
Exactly!

And so excitedly we talked.

This is the thing I have to handle after all.
Beatles.
They are babies... but soon turn into pupae...
And then, adult.
Beatles.

My son let them fight sometimes...
But I take care of them after all because they look painful.
Gotta give them water, jelly...

And now, it's such a season.

Mr. Ishige of Transformer, in charge of the production of this film "Tokyo Rendezvous," is very straightforward, very rare personality nowadays.
The first time I met him was when I was working on the DVD production for the Mourning Forest.
He's a type of man you feel trustworthy while speaking with.
I always speak face to face first of all when I make a decision on whom I should work with.
This gives me inspirations which partner I should choose.
It's an inspiration rather than a thoughtful judgment.
I met Ishige-san in Hongkong the other day, and also in Jeonju.
He invited me to join the team of Tokyo Rendezvous saying, "we are drinking in the hotel room, come join us!"

Nishijima-kun and my son got along very well (he's a type of person children like, so kind).
They were playing and rolling on the bed.
And then, they were talking about my son's favorite girls: he has two girls in his mind at preschool and can't make a choice.

Nishijima-kun: What did you do?
Son: I can't talk about it!
Nishijima-kun: Spit it out.
Son: Never!

I'm worried about his future!
But I was drinking Jinro saying in my mind, "go as you believe."

Director Ikeda Chihiro looks cute with bobbed hair.

Director Chihiro: I watched Suzaku when I was a high-school girl in Hamamatsu!
Director Naomi: I see (I think that was at Moonlight Theater)

Director Chihiro's eyes were twinkling.
That was a night that I confirmed the future of the Japanese films will be fine!

Good luck to Ishige-san.
And I do my best.
We'll see again in Cannes next week?

I left for Korea with special precaution against the new influenza viruses.
It seems ANA and Asiana Airlines opened a new route from Kansai to Kimpo Airport. And they gave us a cloth wrapper for celebration.
But how come cloth wrappers? And I arrived in Kimpo!
So fast! It's like going to Tokyo.
Now we can move quickly from Kansai to Seoul... And we can see a crowd of powerful Kansai women in Seoul more than before.
We moved to Jeonju from Seoul, four hours by bus.
So strange, the feeling of distance!
I felt so tired compared to the quick transfer from Kansai to Kimpo, but it went all away as soon as we arrived in Jeonju!

What a lovely city!
It has historical cityscapes, and at the same time young people are very active.

And the festival (Nara should learn many from it).





Press release, interviews, autographs, and so on...
Delicious Korean dishes...
Makgoli... Jinro...
Skin-scrubbing...


I had a great time.
And learned a lot.

And the protection against the new flu virus worked well as well.

There's a small district called Koma in Sakurai City, Nara.
The name Koma has its origin from Goguryeo, the ancient Korean kingdom.
I didn't know it.
And I got an offer to make a film from Korea.
What a coincidence!
Moreover, the scroll picture hanged quietly on the wall in a temple of Koma was once owned by the king of Goguryeo!
The village woman, acted by Nakamura Yuko, plays a Noh dance.
The title of the Noh dance is "Miwa."
Incidentally again, the village is located at the foot of Mt. Miwa.
Kitamura Kazuki (he played a man of the third generation of Japanese-Korean) has been pretty busy acting for the Taiga Drama, but willingly attended the premiere screening in Korea...

I think we completed this film excellently thanks to many coincidental happenings and exciting experiences throughout the production.

In Japan, I'd like to premiere the film in Sakurai!
And so, we decided to organize the screening on July 4 and 5.
Please come and enjoy the film.

There are still lots of mysterious and fantastic places in Nara if you head for the mid-south area.
GW is already over, but it's great to spend your weekdays in Nara; it's like your only hide-out.

The picture was taken in Jeonju of Korea.
Horii-kun (worrying about the size of his belly), who took care of us for the project in Sakurai, also visited Korea with us (next to him is our staff Kanae-chan).



Kitamura-kun and Yuko-chan enjoying Korea.