Yoko Yamanaka was born in Nagano, Japan, in 1997. After dropping out of Nihon University College of Art, she studied film by herself to make her directorial debut with “Amiko” (2017). The following year, at the age of 20, he was invited to the Berlinale Forum, setting the record as the youngest director ever invited and the youngest feature film director in the history of the festival. “Desert of Namibia” won the FIPRESCI Prize in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
On the occasion of “Desert of Namibia” screening at Busan International Film Festival, she talks about the title, the protagonist and her having two lovers, Yuumi Kawai and other topics
The movie is titled “Desert of Namibia”, but the desert appears very briefly in the movie. Can you explain why you chose this title?
There are two scenes in the film where Kana watches a live stream video of Namib Desert on YouTube on her smartphone. Kana may be rude to her close friends and boyfriends, but she’s pretty honest and lends her ear to people who are not so close to her, like her neighbor and counselor. When pondering about the Namib Desert, which seems to have nothing to do with her, she feels healed. It can be said that the Namib Desert or “Desert of Namibia” is a symbol of that sense of distance between Kana and the people around her.
What was the inspiration behind the story and particularly of the main character?
I wanted to depict a character who’s not morally correct in the current society. Or someone who has been left out. It’s easy to condemn that person from the outside, but there’s a certain truth there sometimes for those who live in that world. We often do not notice anything from a simple victim-versus-perpetrator structure. I was thinking things like this while coming up with the story. As for the main character, I was inspired by “Paris, 13th District” and “Red Rocket,” which I happened to watch while writing the script.
I am also curious why you decided to have her have two lovers?
Humans are all multi-faceted. There’s a face for social scenes and one you only show to your lover. Your dominant side takes hold of you, especially if you’re close to the other person. I wanted to depict the unfaithful power struggle of human relationships. Also, I was hugely inspired by “La maman et la putain (The Mother and the Whore).”
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How did the casting work for the film? Did you always have Yuumi Kawai in your mind for the role?
The main cast are all actors I’ve kept an eye on and wanted to work with. Subcasts were selected through auditions. As for Yuumi Kawai, she came to see AMIKO when it was released in Japan in 2018. She was just a high school student who hadn’t started acting yet, but she wrote me a letter saying she wanted to be in my movie someday. Since then, she has kind of stuck in my head. Later on, I saw her excellent performance in other films she was in and started thinking seriously about making a film with her as the lead role. So yes, I wrote this script with her in mind.
Can you tell me about the cinematography of the film? What you wanted to do with the visual aspect of the movie
I wanted to make this a film that examines Kana’s mental and physical state at each moment. I discussed this with the cinematographer and decided to use a handheld camera to capture her restless, vibrant body movements. And we also talked about how we should slowly switch to fixed camera.
What is your opinion of the movie industry in Japan at the moment?
Yoko: Compared to entertainment-driven films, independent films are not given enough budget. I understand that the main reason is the declining number of audiences. I know that it’s the same around the world, but we’re at a different level. The projects are weak, and nobody is bold enough to write original stories. Because we have relied too much on manga and novels for such a long time, the whole quality of the film industry has gone down.
Are you working on any new projects?
I have a project that’s completed. It’s a story about a strong family bond.
