Naomi Kawase, Director of TOKYO 2020 - Film and Digital Times (2025)

We also applied for these unique camera positions in advance and OBS granted permission for that setup.

Masaya was the DP of the film I shot before Tokyo 2020. I decided to go with cinematographers who had experience
in documentary projects. Masaya also has many friends and brains in the film industry, and he helped us to coordinate the best crew members. We also asked the documentary specialists from Yutaka Yamazaki’s team, with whom I often work together, especially on documentary projects.

Are you interested in technical things? If so, would you care to discuss how the cameras and lenses were picked?

I have some film cameras and have been shooting by myself since I was in my 20s. But I asked Masaya to select all the cameras and the lenses for this project.

But I guess you were also shooting a lot of scenes by yourself as well as directing?

That’s right. (Ms. Kawase holds up a number of cameras.) Here is my Elmo Super 8. And this my Fujica ZC1000 Single-8. It is almost like a decoration at the office now. My treasure.

I think I was influenced by Kon Ichikawa’s film and we shared a common understanding of what we were shooting. This is not a pure documentary film. It is a film that contains narrative and storytelling. I think TV can take care of accurately recording the facts. I wanted to make a work of filmmaker Naomi Kawase.

How could you get so close to many key people and athletes?

I think we were able to get close to these athletes and key people because of the amount of time we put into it. We started the project in 2018, kept shooting for 3 years, and spent almost 4 years to complete these official Olympic films. So I was confident and happy to make two films: Side: A and Side: B. Side: A focuses on the athletes. And Side: B focuses on the COVID-19 situation, people of the Organizing Committee, and other staff behind the Olympics. This shows how Japanese people arranged and held the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately, rumors about the Olympics were severe. Although it was an honor for Japan to be awarded a world-class sports event, many people in Japan also had negative feelings due to fear of COVID-19. Almost 80% of the population objected to holding it. So I shot the events as well as the demonstrations. But I also wanted to show how the future is entrusted to the children. That is true and real. I myself was not biased in any direction in these films and I tried to look at what was happening objectively.

That was a debate held around the world. Were you worried about your health and that of your crew?

Japan is an island country. At first, we subconsciously tended to feel that we were protected. But the world is connected. I felt anxious about the possible collapse of medical care and the chaos of society, but I think it was a good opportunity for us to think about these potential problems.

We are ones who express ourselves. I believe we should not be influenced by the moods that are generated from news.

At that time, March-April 2020 was pretty scary in New York. All productions had shut down. Offices were closed. People were terrified. The government was in denial.

Do you remember the scene at the beginning of the film? New York, Los Angeles and other cities in the world. Times Square was empty. Everywhere on this planet had more or less the similar situation. Thankfully I have friends all over the world and they filmed the places where they were. In a sense, we have to tell the truth with motion pictures. We have to show what

is happening at that time. However this is not enough. As Kon Ichikawa said, we have to tell the story. It would be great if people learn something from films. In the future, people who watch the film may think about the situation in Japan and the world at that time.

Did you approach the film with a neutral or subjective point of view?

Both. First of all, my position was neutral. But of course, there was another Naomi Kawase’s point of view. She was always thinking about the film objectively. It is difficult to tell… one is Naomi Kawase myself and the other is Director Naomi Kawase.

Would you like to discuss your personal point of view?

I love mathematics. I usually try to be neutral, as I calculate too much. Many people have the opposite image of Naomi Kawase. I am considered to be natural, as my films have many scenes
of nature and kind people, and I always try to express human emotions. But I have to be a calculating woman to realize them as a feature film.

So should I dare to say what I thought the theme was—from my point of view in the audience? I have been to Japan many times. I thought you presented a very interesting view of Japanese society. The way you focused on women athletes and their babies was something that no Olympic film had done before. It is a human story. With a humanistic point of view. The event itself was politicized and sometimes nationalistic. But you went above those things to show a lot of human emotions.

Thank you. Because I am a woman. As a director, it has been very hard to make films in the last 30 years. It was very hard because I am a woman and Japanese. Maybe women athletes are in a similar situation.

Do you remember the marathon runner in the film, Aliphine Tuliamuk from the USA? She is a mother and came to the Olympics with her husband. He took care of their baby at the hotel in Tokyo. That was very touching. Her husband said she is an athlete but is also a human being. This is not only an issue of gender equality. It reminds me of the song We are the World.

How did you get into the film business and why did you want to be a film director? Especially if it is so difficult in Japan.

I live in Nara. Here, it is mostly countryside, far from Tokyo. The situation here is also different from Tokyo. In my generation, my friends got married at around 20 years old and had children. I was different as I wanted to make films.

I did not have my parents. When I was born, my parents divorced. I was adopted by an elderly couple who were distant relatives in their 60s and did not have children. Since I was small, I have been thinking, why was I born? Who am I? I was very confused when I was a child. My life suddenly changed when I was 18 years old. I met a Super 8 camera at that time. I shot a scene of ordinary life in the real world. When I projected the developed film in a dark room, I was surprised to see that I could see images from time that had already passed. I thought it was a miracle. I could not be positive in my life, as I did not have my parents and I was poor; however film changed my life.

You remind me of François Truffaut and the Antoine Doinel cycle.

Film is my other life. I never really thought of it, because we’ve already done it. Film offers a way of expressing ourselves and explanations of why we do things, sorting out our dreams and emotions.

You said that there was a competition to get the Olympic film job. How was the selection process done?

I do not know the details but I heard there were 4 candidates for director. There were several parameters: first, the director should be known worldwide. Second, the director should be from the host country. And third, the director should be unique.

Well deserved. Congratulations. What are you working on now? What’s next?

We recently had the Nara international Film Festival. I am the executive director of the festival. Since Mogari no Mori (The Mourning Forest) that won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2007, many people took an interest in Nara, which is the location of the film and my hometown. However, Nara’s economy is not that good. I felt that its good culture is disappearing here and decided to hold a film festival. I have been working on it since the Olympic project. Actually, Nara is a nice place. Please visit Nara when you come to Japan. You are always welcome.

I also want to shoot another film but my next project is Expo 2025 Osaka. I am the producer of the event and will have a pavilion Naomi Kawase. There are fewer than 1000 days until the event. I have to start preparing for it in earnest. There will be a new style of theater. A representative of audience will talk to a person on the screen, but they do not know if it is real or fiction.

I look forward to visiting both Nara and your Osaka pavilion. Thank you.