Tell us about making of the new film “Bright Lie”.

The film starring Syuntaro Iizuka, and Ayumi Narita who is my old partner and has been featured since my first film. I met Syuntaro Iizuka for the first time at Yubari Film Festival. Even though we were still in high school that time, he listened really well about our offer, and appeared in the film we took that year, titled “Record Of Schoolgirl War” (2000). He told me “Let’s make a film together someday again when we grew up each other, and give me a main role”. I am still green, but I thought that now is the time and offered him to be in this “Bright Lie”. He is usually make people laugh as a comedian, but I wanted to shoot him as a cool and matured actor this time. We started making the film in 2005, carrying out one month shooting in Hokkaido. It is a love story between a lonely painter who left colors and a lady who is losing her sight.

Still from “Bright Lie”

Why love story this time?

I spent a long time thinking about the new film. I read the past questionnaire that we have asked the audience to write at every screening. Of course there were both for and against, but most of opinions were about superficial “feelings” such as “beautiful visual”, etc. All my works don’t have the script or story, which might be difficult to understand. The strong impressions are all in the optical expressions, and I fond that my “feeling” had not got through.

Still from “Bright Lie”

I wanted to draw “feeling” again. I had been shooting from my impulsive feeling, but I wanted to try shooting feeling from the characters in the film this time. And I wanted to know how the feeling of the audience would move by watching it. It might be proper thing, but to me, who had been shooting for only myself, it was a big difference. Therefore, I chose a love story. Everybody has fallen love with somebody. With this very simple entrance, I wanted to take them to my world. I wrote a script for the first time at the 8th work.

At last, tell us about your future plan?

“Bright Lie” is my first film in 5 years. It was also an experiment of communication in making film, and finding the answer to what I’ve been thinking about, feeling inside of myself, and what I want to express in the film. Therefore, making a film means to me very personal thing yet.

I read the questionnaire from the audience who watched the “Bright Lie”. What they were writing about was clearly different. I was saved once again in this way. I even think that I could finally make a film for the first time. There are still many answers to find, but I would like to continue showing my films to my fans and visitors, as well as the film making. It is very exciting to see the feeling of the audience moving more than anything else.

“Bright Lie” is an apparently standard work comparing to previous “Devoted Garden” that shows unusual days between a restricted woman in apartment and visitor. Nevertheless, more closely detailed cinematography, phone conversations between two, the scene that brings the painter to mind colors, are all impressive. The stillness at last is just superb. Check her next show on their website. You bet.

Bright Lie
Director/Writer: Rina Naganuma
Cast: Shuntaro Iizuka, Ayumi Narita, and others
Released in 2007 / 66 min. / Japan
http://www.eizoko.com