今日上海
是枝裕和上海电影放映会上反思家庭主题和遗弃 - 2024年09月22日
Hirokazu Koreeda reflects on family themes and abandonment at sold-out Shanghai film screening
The Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, best known for portraying family stories and domestic relationships with touching emotional depth, said he never consciously chose family as a theme.
"It just happened that during a certain period, my parents passed away ... then I had my own child and became a father myself ... I'm neither forcing myself to move away from family stories nor deliberately clinging to them," Koreeda told fans during a special screening of one of his films in Shanghai.
Despite Typhoon Bebinca causing a delay to his original flight on September 15, Koreeda arrived in Shanghai the following day for a special screening of his acclaimed film "Nobody Knows."
Adapted from a true story, the 2004 film portrays the struggles of four half-siblings, aged 5 to 12, who were abandoned by their solo parent mother.
"The word 'abandon' only gained widespread use years after the film's release ... When I chose the title 'Nobody Knows,' I hoped to draw attention and make more people aware of these children's existence," Koreeda said.
Hundreds of seats for the screening sold out within a minute of ticket sales opening, and the event had a 90 per cent occupancy rate even after being hit by the city's strongest storm in 75 years.
The screening was part of Koreeda's film exhibition, organized by the Shanghai Art Film Federation from September 6 to 16. The event showcased eight of his classic works, including "Still Walking" and "Shoplifters," at the Grand Cinema and Tianshan Cinema – Hongqiao Art Center.
Marco Müller, curator of the exhibition, also attended. The former director of the Venice International Film Festival is currently the director of the Film Art Research Centre at Shanghai University, and professor emeritus at the Shanghai Film Academy.
At the beginning of the meeting, Müller said: "Hirokazu Koreeda was mentioned most when I asked young Chinese movie lovers which international director they would like to meet."
Source: Shanghai Daily
