Looking back the 25th TIFF : comments from guests (Part4)
 
Reis Çelik (Director) (Night of Silence)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival seen during your stay in Japan?
　Reis Çelik： Very nice organization and staff team is very professional, and Sushi!! My wife (Medik Çelik, Production Manager) actually doesn’t like it, maybe next time she will try. And I also enjoyed meeting filmmakers. Thank you!
 
 
 
Tea Lim Koun (Director) (Peov Chouk Sor, The Snake Man)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival seen during your stay in Japan?
　Tea Lim Koun： I am very happy to be here. I thank TIFF staffs as I think this festival is well-organized and technics of screening are great. I would like to come to TIFF once again.
 
 
 
Q： Our main theme of this year’s film festival is “Power of Films Now”. Do you have any episode in which you strongly felt the power of the film?
Tea Lim Koun： I think the reason why film festivals are held is the organizers wants to more people to make films. It is said that cinema is the seventh art. I think the greatest impact cinema can make is to enlighten people. I myself want to give a sense of right and wrong through my films. I think this is the power of films.
 
 
Bunyo Kimura (Director) (Where Does Love Go? 〜Tentatively Titled〜)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival?
　Bunyo Kimura： I have received hard and fast responses and extremely perceptive responses at Q&A and through Internet from people who like the Tokyo movies and people who have been visiting the film festival for many years. I felt the tensions but I was very glad as well.
 
Q: Our main theme of this year’s film festival is “Power of Films Now”. Do you have any episode in which you strongly felt the power of the film?
Bunyo Kimura： I think that the film is able to help what is normally impossible to save. Following the 3.11; I have screened the film at TIFF last year and this year as well. I believe that my film is helping people.
 
 
Ryohei Yoshino (Director) （『Akaboshi』）
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival?
　Ryohei Yoshino： The mood of TIFF is rather elegant for me (Laughs) I usually live in downtown area of Tokyo most of the time, and I become nervous and excited when I visit Roppongi. I use to feel that the mood of the film festival seemed uneasy to approach from the outside; but TIFF staff and the volunteer was very kind to me. I thought that I would like to visit as one of the audience. Of course, I would like to participate with my film again.
 
Q: Our main theme of this year’s film festival is “Power of Films Now”. Do you have any episode in which you strongly felt the power of the film?
Ryohei Yoshino： An individual, who direct films sometimes feel kind of resigned with what they write in the script or with what they contemplate during the shooting; feeling that it will not relate to people although they strongly have the desire to relate it. However, I had an opportunity to have a big audience watch my film this time and when I received the question from the foreigner at the Q&A following the screening; asking whether my intentions were in a certain way; I really felt that the film was a strong shared language. People with different ethnic background and ages sat together in the dark room and watch the same film and experiencing it together. I think that the empathy and the sense of unity that is created here is certainly the “Power of Film.”
 
 
Yutaka Tsuchiya (Director) (『GFP BUNNY』)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival?
　Yutaka Tsuchiya： This was the first time for me to participate in TIFF, in the proper manner; therefore it made me feel very festive. I’m not great with fashionable places but made an effort to enjoy myself. (Laughs)
 
 
Q: Our main theme of this year’s film festival is “Power of Films Now”. Do you have any episode in which you strongly felt the power of the film?
Yutaka Tsuchiya： I guess you are asking this question to everybody. I like the sense of formality in this type of interviews. (Laughs) There was an individual who said was afraid to understand the girl’s feelings through the film, GFP BUNNY.
“I think” it is alright to understand the girl’s feelings. I think that it is the “Power” of this film that loosened the feeling of “Social Oppression” which told the people that they shouldn’t relate to the feelings of the girl who committed such a crime. I thought that it was the “Power” after 20 or 30 years later, when people who have lived on with the similar feelings that were close to such an oppression was able to emphasize or felt that it was alright to emphasize after seeing this film.
 
 
Makiko Watanabe (actress) (『GFP BUNNY』)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival?
　Makiko Watanabe： It was the first time for me to participate in the film section with an award. I am very happy that the film received the award. This may tie in with what Director Tsuchiya said earlier, but to empathize with the film that you have participated in; or visit the theater as an audience and realize that you are not alone; or when you are emphasizing it really makes you feel supported.
 
 
Norio Enomoto (Director)　(『Something Wicked Comes Over the Wall』)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival?
　Norio Enomoto： Good thing about TIFF, being as the International Film Festival of Japan, is that it is extremely organized and personally I am very thankful that there are Japanese subtitles in foreign films from various parts of the world.
Up to now, I have participated in aspect to business, as a business man; but I have been cared very well participating as a director. I really felt good. It is the “final day of the Film Festival” today and it is very cool. “I didn’t win any prize this time” but I hope to make a comeback.
 
 
Philippe Witjes (Director) (Himself He Cooks)
Q: What was your impression of this Film Festival seen during your stay in Japan?
　Philippe Witjes： First impression I received was how the guests were welcomed; the hotel was beautiful and the staff were very attentive. I had to wait one evening until my screening took place. Everything was very well organized at the day of my screening. I was interviewed by the journalist from the J-Wave Radio and also from the Official Web site as well. The, technical quality of the theater was perfect. It was the first time that I heard the sound of my movie since the sound was edited together. The sound mixing of my film and the theater projection was professional and it was just so great.
 
Q: Our main theme of this year’s film festival is “Power of Films Now”. Do you have any episode in which you strongly felt the power of the film?
Philippe Witjes： Well there were lots of different films. I mostly watched the documentaries and one feature film but every one of them had different styles. I am also surprised by the choice of the films which won the awards in this film festival; that is because the winning film was so very different for every edition of the film festival; we see the open mindedness of the jury. I am really moved by the caring of the Chairman Yoda, it is incredible and I was feeling the energy. So it really reflected the open mindedness of the film festival with the long history.
 
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Part3