meeting with the young team of the Japanese film “My Sunshine” two hours before the red carpet

It is undoubtedly the youngest team at the festival, and also the one who traveled the greatest number of kilometers to come and walk the steps of the legendary red carpet during this 77th edition of the most prestigious cinematographic event in the world. . The young Japanese director Hiroshi Okuyama, 28 years old, is surrounded by his three actors, Sosuke Ikematsu, Keitatsu Koshiyama, and Kiara Nakanishi.

Already ready, impeccable tuxedos for the boys, very pretty dress, like a black dahlia for the young girl, they continue the interviews on the sixth floor terrace of the Palais des Festivals. Around them we scrutinize the watch, we move around, the timing is tight. In two hours, they are expected for the official presentation of their film My Sunshinepresented in the Un certain regard selection.

“I am really happy”, confides the young Kiara Nakanishi (in French please). She continues shyly: “It’s my first time in a film, and the first time in Cannes of course. I’m really happy, and at the same time nervous, the red carpet, all that… I don’t have the words to describe what I feel”. “I think I don’t really realize it yet,” adds Keitatsu Koshiyama, his excellent partner who plays the character of Takuya in the film.

My Sunshine is the story of a metamorphosis that takes place over the course of a winter for this shy young boy, who opens up and blossoms by taking up figure skating with Arakawa, Sakura’s coach, played by Sousuke Ikematsu, who shares the joy of his two young partners.

“It’s the first time I’ve come to Cannes. I am obviously very happy on the one hand to be able to come, but also that the film is selected here. Because we really are, I think, in the best possible place in the world to show a film,” rejoices the actor. “There is a real excitement here, I didn’t expect it. I’ve been in Cannes for two days and I’m just getting used to it” confides the actor.

Since they arrived, they have taken the opportunity to discover French gastronomy. “I learned how to peel shrimp”laughs Kiara Nakanishi. “And I tasted raw oysters for the first time”, adds Keitatsu Koshiyama.

For his part, the director says he has the impression since his arrival at Cannes of “living a real dream”. “I had already been selected for my first film at the San Sebastian festival, but here in Cannes, I feel that it’s really a different scale. Being here alongside the greatest filmmakers in the world is really a great way to kick off the career of this film,” he adds, hoping that his presence at Cannes will open up an international career for his film.

“There was a screening at the film market and I had the opportunity to meet both sellers and distributors who were there. And we really receive very direct reactions straight away”explains Hiroshi Okuyama.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the audience’s reactions this afternoon.”confides the director, who explains when asked how he worked on the staging of his film that this notion of staging has no equivalent in Japanese.

“The Japanese word perhaps does not contain so broadly everything that mise-en-scène can mean. The actors, the direction of the actors, but also the costumes, the sets, each accessory that we will choose, etc. I believe that the staging includes all that in French”he says. “And so I tried to be careful, to really think carefully about each of these elements. After what the public receives, that’s their business!”

“With this film, I think I wanted to tell the story of a young man’s coming of age. When I wrote the first words of the first synopsis, on the first page of the project, I had this idea of ​​this time which takes place between the moment when the snow begins to fall and the moment when the snow melts. And I wanted to chronicle the life of this young boy in this period of time, during which he will have encounters, and also separations, which will make him mature. And that’s the time I wanted to film”explains the director.

The time to climb the stairs is approaching. One of the Japanese staff members approaches “we have to go”she whispers, a little stressed. “I will try to enjoy the moment”says Kiara Nakanishi before being taken on board. “The official screening takes place in front of an audience of 1,200 spectators”, declares Keitatsu Koshiyama, who has obviously documented this unique moment that awaits him. “I admit that I wonder what spectators will feel when they see the film”he adds. “I imagine that everyone will have a different feeling, but what I hope is that what the director wanted to say, wanted to show through his film, will reach each of the spectators in the room” the boy hopes.

“You mentioned earlier the fact that we were a very young team”, adds Sosuke Ikematsu, “Cinema has existed for 100 years. The Cannes Film Festival is celebrating its 77th edition. This year’s poster, in fact, is an image of Rhapsody in August, by Akkira Kurozawa. And it turns out that Hiroshi’s grandfather was the producer of this film. I’m really happy to be here to represent Japanese cinema and I can’t wait to see what we’ll experience this afternoon,” rejoices the actor.

This time the staff completely interrupts the conversation. The whole team is ordered to go get ready. There is no question of arriving late on the red carpet. Before leaving, the director nevertheless wants to add a little word about a coincidence which he interprets as a happy omen: “In my film, on several occasions, we hear the Moonlight by Claude Debussy. It turns out that the film will be screened here as a world premiere at the Palais des Festival in Cannes, in the Debussy room!”he concludes, big smile.

Thanks to Léa Le Dimna for the translation from Japanese to French.