Genki Kawamura Talks Japanese New Wave, Collaborates With Kore-eda On ‘Monster’, Adapts ‘Your Name’ For Hollywood With JJ Abrams – Tokyo

There has been much talk here at the Tokyo Film Festival about the rise of internationally minded Japanese artists led by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Makoto Shinkai and Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

One of the key creative voices often mentioned in this new Japanese set is Genki Kawamura, known to audiences internationally as the author of When cats disappeared from the worldone of the most successful contemporary novels in Japanese literature, and the filmmaker who created this book and title Suzume, defend with youand most recently Kore-eda’s award-winning film in Cannes monster on the big screen.

Born in Yokohama in 1979, Kawamura began his career at entertainment giant Toho, where he was recognized early on as a promising talent. He gained his first experience in films such as Tetsuya Nakashima’s 2010 film confessions, which was shortlisted for the Oscar for Best International Film, and Mamoru Hosodas The Boy and the Beast.

He then gained attention with the 2016 anime your name, a global blockbuster that grossed over ¥40 billion (over $350 million) at the box office and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature and the Sitges Award for Best Animated Feature. Kawamura is currently producing an English-language remake of the film with JJ Abrams for Paramount Minari Filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung writes and directs.

In 2017, he founded the independent production center STORY Inc. co-founded with Yoshihiro Furusawa, who made his directorial debut with the company. A hundred flowers debuted in San Sebastian, where Kawamura became the first Japanese filmmaker to win the festival’s Silver Shell Award for Best Director. Below, Kawamura talks to Deadline about his career, Japan’s new generation of filmmakers, current challenges in the domestic market and working with Abrams on Hollywood films. your name New edition.

DEADLINE: First: how are you? Have you had a very busy year?

GENKI KAWAMURA: It was particularly busy in 2022 and 2023. My directorial debut, which I also wrote, was released in 2022. A hundred flowers, based on my novel, was selected for the competition section of the 70th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. I won the Silver Shell Award for Best Director for the film. The film was released in many countries around the world, so I attended many film festivals and campaigns for it.

At the same time I was producing Suzume And monster. Until 2023, Suzume premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide. The film grossed over $415 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time at the international box office. monster It won Best Screenplay and Queer Palm at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival and is currently touring festivals around the world. I am currently producing a new live action film based on my novel April, come, she will and an original animated film starring Naoko Yamada, the director of A quiet voicewhich will be released next year.

DEADLINE: As anyone looking at your filmography can see, you are extremely prolific. How do you maintain this pace?

KAWAMURA: I am very productive, but because my role of novelist, screenwriter, director and producer changes from project to project, I can keep a fresh mind on each project. Most of my ideas come to me while working on multiple projects at the same time. The common thread that connects all my work, whether in novels, films or animations, is “storytelling”.

DEADLINE: They were at the center of what many refer to as a new golden generation of international Japanese filmmakers. Can you tell me something about your career? How you got started here today and at STORY Inc.

KAWAMURA: I am deeply inspired by the activities of Japanese filmmakers of my generation, such as Makoto Shinkai and Ryusuke Hamaguchi. I started my career as a film producer at Toho, a film company, making live action films such as Confessions And SlyI started writing novels when I was thirty. My debut novel, When cats disappeared from the world was released in 28 countries and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Around the same time I started making original animated films Mirai with Mamoru Hosoda and your name with Makoto Shinkai. In 2017 I started a company called STORY inc. It was a small planning and production company consisting of twelve creative producers. The core members were the same people who worked together your name. I founded the company to work closely with directors, screenwriters and original creators to create films with a focus on telling “STORIES”.

We’ve been doing it ever since Defend with you And Suzume with Makoto Shinkai and The Makanai with Hirokazu Korea-eda. We are also working on an original animated film with Naoko Yamada, director of A Quiet voicewhich will be released next year.

DEADLINE: International readers may have first met you through the success of Jou Naam. Did you expect this film to be so popular? And what Exactly Do you think Japanese films travel well?

KAWAMURA: I think three elements set a new standard for Japanese animation films that will be widely accepted: the visual sensitivity of Makoto Shinkai, the strong story of the good team and the music that worked with Radwimps. My mission is to present a story and images that use complex levels of sensibilities unique to Japanese people. I believe that we Japanese have the ability to create unique stories and characters. Here is another reason why I chose Story as the name for my business.

DEADLINE: Lee Isaac Chung is currently editing Your Name. How does this process work? How involved are you? And what is it like working with Hollywood studios?

KAWAMURA: I am currently working on the script with Carlos Lopez Estrada, the director of Raya and the last dragon, with Bad Robot and JJ Abrams. I am involved in this project as a producer. Because of the pandemic and now all the strikes, it’s progressing slowly, but it’s progressing steadily. As always, I participate as a “storyteller”, either in Japan or the US

DEADLINE: You produced Korea-eda’s last film, Monster. How did it happen? And how would you describe the experience?

KAWAMURA: I developed an original story with screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto. We came up with a really good story and presented it to director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Children play a very important role in this story and I wanted to ask a director who is excellent at directing children. As someone whose job it is to tell stories, I was deeply honored and delighted to receive the Best Screenplay and Queer Palme awards for this film at the Cannes Film Festival.

DEADLINE: You have traveled to international festivals with Suzume, Monster and Weathering with You. How important do you think the European festival circuit is for Asian and especially Japanese films?

KAWAMURA: I attended film festivals last year to this year and found that film festivals and awards are very effective in bringing Japanese films to the international market.

DEADLINE: What are the current challenges in the Japanese market?

KAWAMURA: I believe that more diverse talent should emerge and more diverse films should be made.

DEADLINE: What’s next for you?

KAWAMURA: My novel A hundred flowers has already been released in Asian countries, France and Italy, but will eventually be released in the US and the UK next year. I am also currently working on a new novel. This is the story of a horse and a woman. It will be released next year. I am also producing a live action film April, come, she will based on my novel and an animated film with an original story by Naoko Yamada, the director of A quiet voicewhich will be released next year.