Interviews Japan Cuts

Interview with Kaori Oda: “I do sense a possibility of the gaze of the camera having some warmth sometimes.”

Born in 1987 in Hirakata (Osaka Prefecture) had to abandon her dream of becoming a basketball player at an early age. Eventually she decided to study abroad in the United States where she took her first classes in filmmaking. Upon her return to Japan she directed her feature debut, the self-documentary “Thus a Noise Speaks” (2010), a film about her family's dealing with her coming out as homosexual. In the aftermath she applied for the film.factory program of the Sarajevo Film Academy, a program co-founded by director Bela Tarr.

Her newest documentary titled “” deals with the repercussions of her debut feature, but also delves into themes such as the power of the camera as a constructor of reality and the process of re-defining herself as a director. The film premiered at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animation Film 2017 and will be screened during the Japan Cuts Festival 2018.

First of all thanks for agreeing to the interview. “Toward a Common Tenderness” may be seen as a documentary about a search to establish or re-establish a link to the art of film and to the world as a whole. In what ways is the film a universal tale regarding these issues?

Thank you for the interview. Well, making the film was a personal thing, so I didn't put much thought into how it would show the world at large, but I was really thinking about the people or the essence of being human and how the camera as a tool can expand that. And so, maybe, that is not like a universal message, but that's what I was trying to do.

Can you shed some light into the history of the project? Given the private nature of the film the question of releasing it or screening it in front of an audience must have been a difficult decision.

I personally needed to make the film for myself and in terms of sharing it, for me or the piece, for the audience's sake, the meaning of what sharing a piece like this means, I'm still thinking about it. And in sharing it, the responses have varied, both good and bad, but for me the meaning to have the film seen is something I am still discovering.

I read in an interview that you consider yourself, when you make a film, or that instead of being a director, an anthropologist. Can you explain that statement? Why do you want to be an anthropologist?

If I hadn't been a filmmaker, I probably would have become an anthropologist or a monk. And the reason is because I am interested in people. And although I make films that are seemingly just space and environment, what I'm interested in is what makes the space interesting, which is the livelihood or the atmosphere of people inhabiting the space. Which is why if I can't continue to make films in the future, then I maybe want to be an anthropologist.

And the other reason why I am interested in anthropology is because I really like the book of an anthropologist named Claude Lévi-Strauss.

In the same interview, you make the distinction between “me”, which is yourself, and “the camera”. Why is that distinction important to you? Why is it important for a film like “Toward a Common Tenderness”?

I don't remember the interview, but could you remind me of how I was distinguishing the two?

Whenever there was a response it was like “I/the camera was looking at that space”. At least that is the way it was written.

The slash (/) wasn't really a distinction, rather it's more of an equal sign (=) meaning “I” am “the camera”.

There is a moment in “Toward a Common Tenderness” when you talk about the “longing to record” a space or a person. At the same time, you mention the feeling of insecurity, whether one can indeed intrude into these lives and places. How do you escape this dilemma?

I'm still thinking about this. And for now to answer it, to answer it clearly, is impossible. But it is not necessarily invading people's spaces, but also at the same time the camera has a sense of violence inherent in it. But I do sense a possibility of the gaze of the camera having some warmth sometimes. And I feel that every moment that I record, every second of that, is a challenge.

A lot of this warmth comes from the people your are watching with the camera and because of the use of music and sound. How important is music and sound for “Toward a Common Tenderness”?

It's very very important. I mix the music and the sound a little bit, but most of the music comes from an artist named Mono Fontana and without his soundscapes, the movie would have been halved.

In the aforementioned interview you mention you are not a cinephile, and one of the biggest inspirations was “Letters to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke. Can you name other inspirations for your work?

The first book that I was inspired by, is, as I said before, by Claude Lévi-Strauss and the title of the book is “Tristes Tropiques”. The other one would be Susan Sontag's “Regarding the Pain of Others” or “Against Interpretation”. The final essay is “L'Inconnu Sur la Terre” by J.M.G. Le Clézio.

Since “Toward a Common Tenderness” deals with becoming a director, or an important stage in becoming a director, is there anything you would like to tell young aspiring filmmakers?

I would say when filming you show something that is not you, but ultimately what is shown is the world that is interpreted through your eyes. And something that ‘ll say as well is that if you're conflicted or stalled at any moment, that's not a bad thing, and that you don't have to decide then and there what you have to do.

Are there any future projects that you are working on?

I have been visiting Mexico and the underwater caves, and also the villages in the surrounding area to the Mayan communities around there. And I have been recording myths, legends and folklore that I hear there and I hope to make it into a cohesive piece. I have been working on this for three years now.

About the author

Rouven Linnarz

Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.

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