A press conference featuring POST CARD from the Competition section was held as follows:

Date & Time: October 27th (Wednesday), from 15:00 @Movie Café
Appearance: Kaneto Shindo(director/screenplay/original story), Etsushi Toyokawa (actor), Shinobu Otake (actress)



Here are some notes and quotes:

Kaneto Shindo (KS): Thank you for coming to our press conference today.
Etsushi Toyokawa (ET): I am very happy to be able to participate in the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Shinobu Otake (SO): I'm grateful that I was able to take part in yet another Shindo film.

Q: I understand that there is damage war brings to people’s hearts as well as the power it brings. What is your impression upon completing this film?
KS: The theme of this film is that under no circumstance should we start a war as it only kills people. For example if a soldier goes to war and is killed, his wife will be widowed. Moreover, if that soldier was central to the family, that family would be completely devastated. That is the tragedy of war I wanted to depict in this movie. As well, as I have been to war myself, I wanted to draw upon my own experience to write out this story.

Q: I believe you said that you plan to make this movie your final piece, but do you plan to shoot any more?
KS: I plan to make this my last film as I am getting weaker and it would be difficult to continue. That's why I declared that this would be my final film.

Shindo went to war when he was 32 years old. He talked about his experience up to the point when the war ended. He was first called to the cleaning crew. After the soldiers finished their duty, they would do a drawing to decide on who would go to actual battle. In this way, 94 out of 100 soldiers lost their lives and Shindo was one of the 6 who made it out alive.

KS: The souls of the 94 soldiers have been with me all the time and I accepted it as a way of life. After I founded my own independent movie production, I shot films the way I wanted to—based on how I wanted to make a movie. Yet, one cannot shoot a film in tears, remembering the past days, so I swore to myself to keep my head high and to continue making movies come hell or high water. Of course I have shed tears—there were moments when I felt crushed to the ground, as if groveling to make films. The next thing I knew, 60 years had passed making movies in this manner and I am now 98 years old. I feel that this is my limit in moviemaking and this will be my last piece. Yet, the only thing I have in my life is films so I will live alongside movies for the rest of what remains ahead of me. I am a humble filmmaker who made a humble movie. I ask for your kind support toward my film.

Q: As a survivor of war, how do you see the world?
KS: I hear news about how war must be stopped for a country to develop, or that a country will not be fully established otherwise. As well, there are voices against the possession of nuclear warheads. This is all the obvious. In my opinion,
private soldiers are out in the battlefield, not high ranking members of the army. This is precisely what I want to say to the world. Many of the private soldiers come from poor families barely able to make a decent living, and so if these soldiers die, their families will be crushed. That is what war is all about and that is my message. I'd like for the world to be more aware of nuclear warheads and power plants. I speak of this out of experience and so will speak with confidence. I have reflected all of these thoughts into my film.



ET: Looking at the present world, it seems like the world hasn't changed much when comparing the early 1900s with the early 2000s. It's true that 60 years have passed since the end of WWII and fortunately Japan is not involved in any war or internal conflicts. Yet, if you look at the world there are wars and political or religious conflicts in many parts, which is something the world has already seen a century ago. In this sense, nothing has changed…The victims of war are the innocent citizens; women, children or those who have lost a family member, or even an entire family. The reality that the perpetrators of war never die but that civilians do is a fact that probably hasn't changed at all. In this sense, I am sure this movie will reach out to people in many places of the world.




SO: I am in complete line with the director and Mr. Toyokawa. The director earlier said that he was a humble filmmaker who made a humble film and I see my job as to express his thoughts through acting. My wish is for Mr. Shindo's message to reach the hearts of those who see his film and for it to continue to be passed on. I also hope that the audience will grasp even a small fraction of the staff's and casts' passion towards shooting this film.




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