Q.What role and meaning did you give to the boyfriend, since I felt that many people sympathize with him to the same degree as with the main character?

A. Initially, I had envisioned a meaner direction, but based on the advice of those around me, I decided to set the character up as an unlikable one. I tried to give an understated direction so that the audience would feel more familiar and sympathetic to him. Especially in the flour scene, I controlled his emotions by choosing whether to flap the flour aggressively or more restrained. Also, the actor playing the boyfriend had a short shooting period and was asked to do a scene where he cries within a few days of the start of shooting.

Q. I heard that you were influenced by director MITANI's films. Are there any scenes in "La Magistral" that you refer to?

A. In the ring scene, since the better a wrestler is at wrestling, the more elastic the rope is. We paid attention to the placement of the people around him. I focused on the placement of accessories and the performance of the extras, even if it will be a small portion of the scene in the camera.

Q. Could you tell us about the scenes you put the most effort into during filming, such as the scenes that required many takes?

A. The shooting itself went smoothly. However, since the filming involved martial arts and professional wrestling scenes, the casting was selected for people who were able to perform physical exercises, and I prayed desperately that no injuries, such as bone fractures, would occur during the dangerous scenes.

Q: In the scene where the main character starts wrestling and training, there are many short takes set with light music, which reminded me of the training scene in the movie "Rocky". Was there any intention to do so?

A. I always get angry when I say, "all the movies in the world" (laugh), but I gathered images by watching many wrestling and boxing movies in Japan and abroad. I edited the film according to those images for the training scenes.

Q. How did you get started in filmmaking?

A. Growing up, I was shy and not the type to communicate with others. However, when I went to the movie theater, I could forget my loneliness by watching a movie in the same space with a variety of people, both lonely and not so lonely, and I could feel the charm of movies. It is impossible to complete any film by myself, and I must always be involved with others. That is why I was able to acquire social skills through the common language of film production. I was once told, "You make movies as if you were breathing," and I think that's exactly right (laughs). Also, as my motto in filmmaking, I want to make films that give hope to the audience when they watch my films and think, "I'll do my best a little more, or I'll do my best again tomorrow.”

Message from Director NARUSE Miyaka to the Hiroshima International Film Festival “I think it means a lot to screen films in Hiroshima, so from now on I would like to send out more films to the ‘world’ and I hope you will do the same.”