Shunji Iwai “The never-ending earthquake and tsunami in Japan had to be covered in a movie”

Japanese film director Shunji Iwai (60) revealed the reason why he used the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster, which are traumas for the Japanese people, in his film.

At 4:30 pm on the 6th, a meeting was held for the movie ‘Kyrie’s Song’ (directed by Shunji Iwai) in the training room on the 8th floor of the U-dong Film Industry Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Attending the meeting that day were director Shunji Iwai and actors Aina the End, Suzu Hirose, and Hokuto Matsumura.

On this day, director Shunji Iwai was asked why he used his own traumas, such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, in the film, and said that there was an earthquake in the place where he was born and raised. “I thought I would have to deal with this topic, but now, 12 years later, I am able to release a movie.”

He said, “I thought it was impossible to express a movie with the theme of an earthquake. What I could do was how to deal with the earthquake on a personal level.” “Everyone has a personal experience or experience of being indirectly affected by it, so I thought about how to deal with it,” he said.

Director Shunji said, "I drew this story a year after the earthquake, but at that time, the story was not complete to reveal and the ending was not completed, so now, 12 years later, I decided to express it as 'Kyrie's Song'." “I made this film because disasters such as the tsunami are not a problem that has been solved, but something that must continue to be dealt with,” he said.

Director Shunji Iwai's new film 'Kyrie's Song', well known to Korean audiences for the films 'Love Letter', 'April Story', and 'All About Lily Chou Chou', was selected in the Window of Asian Cinema section at the 28th Busan International Film Festival. I was invited.

'Kyrie's Song' is about three people: 'Kirie' (Aina the End), a street musician who speaks only through singing, 'Ikko' (Suzu Hirose), a friend who erased herself, and 'Natsuhiko' (Hokuto Matsumura), a man looking for his missing lover. An emotional story that tells a secret story. It is scheduled to be released domestically in October.

Busan Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr