On Friday, November 24, we interviewed Director SATO Miku, who directed "Girls Got Golds," nominated for the International Short Film Competition.

Director SATO is an artist born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and completed her Master of Film and New Media Studies from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2019. Attracted by the social democratic approach of the Netherlands, which was the first country in the world to introduce same-sex marriage and euthanasia, she is currently based in both Japan and the Netherlands.

This film is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Overseas Study Program for Emerging Artists. It focuses on Elka de Levie, a Jewish woman who competed as a Dutch gymnast in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and won the gold medal, and looks back on her life through the narration of her granddaughter.

There were five Jews in the team, but four of them, except Elka, were killed by Nazi persecution during World War II. The film depicts the life of a woman who survived the Olympics and the war, moving back and forth between the past and the future.

Director SATO said that the direction, which moves back and forth between the present and the future, contains her thoughts on the "difficulty of living" in the modern world. Born and raised in a conservative family environment, Director SATO had been feeling the "difficulty of living" as a woman. She believes that this is connected to her personal history, and that she creates the films to explore the reasons for it.

Regarding the production of the film, Director SATO said that she had difficulty finding relatives of Elka. Her internet information existed, but there was scarce information about her, and she spent three months making phone calls, one after another, looking for Elka's unique Jewish surname in the town pages.

She explained her enthusiasm which poured into her film. She said, "I definitely wanted to make this film while her grandchild is still alive. I really didn't think that I couldn't make it. I would be able to do it, only if I could meet her in person and convey my passion to her."

A message from Director SATO Miku to the Hiroshima International Film Festival:
“I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to meet other film directors that I can use in my future. I also feel the significance of holding the film festival in Hiroshima, and yesterday I watched "The Heart of Hiroshima" and got shocked. I really hope you will continue this festival."