The film “Faceless” (Shotai) was screened at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 29th at the NTT CRED Hall 1. This suspenseful human drama follows Kaburagi (Ryusei Yokohama), a suspect in a murder case that shocked Japan, as he escapes and continues his fugitive escapades, disguised as a fugitive. It’s based on the novel of the same name by Tamehito Somei. This film is a masterpiece by director Michihito Fujii, who won three major awards at the 48th Japan Academy Awards: Best Actor (Ryusei Yokohama), Best Supporting Actress (Riho Yoshioka), and Best Director (Michihito Fujii). After the screening, director Fujii and actor Takayuki Yamada, who plays the passionate detective Matanuki, who pursues Kaburagi, appeared on stage. A talk show began to thunderous applause. The interviewer was freelance personality Michita Kimura.
“Faceless” was released on November 29th of last year, and was screened at this festival exactly one year after its release. Director Fujii, who has attended this festival almost every year since winning the Special Jury Prize in the International Short Film Competition in Damah Film Festival in Hiroshima(former Hiroshima International Film Festival) in 2011 for “Dust”, greeted the audience, saying, “I am very happy and delighted to be able to share this time with you all in Hiroshima. I consider Hiroshima to be my second home.” Yamada expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you so much for coming in such large numbers.” Looking back on the production of this film, the director described it as a culmination of his work to date. He said he consciously worked on it with the intention of making it so that even junior high school students who only see one film a year would be happy that “Faceless” was that one. While Matanuki’s role is weak in the original novel, he said that in adapting it into a film, he wanted to clearly depict the pursuer and the pursued, and the light and shadows. He shared the story of how he offered the role to Yamada because he was the only one who could play the detective Matanuki, whose role becomes extremely important.
Director Fujii and Yamada first met about 10 years ago. It all started when Yamada joined as a producer on “Day and Night,” Fujii’s first feature-length film. It was also Yamada’s first time working as a producer, and he decided to take on the challenge, believing that even as an actor, it would be beneficial to have a variety of perspectives, which is what he continues to do today. Regarding character development, he revealed that he doesn’t just consider the life as written in the script, but also imagines the character’s life from birth to the future, and thinks about what kind of life they have led, so mentally, he can’t handle multiple projects at the same time. While preparing for the role of Matanuki in “Faceless,” he felt he wanted to apologize to Kaburagi, but also had to be a police officer. He said he was so stressed out by the dilemma that he thought all his hair would fall out.
A Q&A session was also held with the audience, and in response to a question about what each of them would be like as an animal, Director Fujii replied, “A unicorn! It has a quietness that makes it seem like it can see through everything,” while Yamada drew laughter with, “Maybe a neat and nervous cat. But only for work!”
Afterwards, a photo was taken with the audience, and the talk show came to a close.
Finally, Director Fujii said, “As long as this film festival continues, I will continue to work hard every day so that my next work can be screened.” Yamada expressed his gratitude by saying, “I would be happy if you sometimes think of me and watch my work. Thank you for today,” and left the venue to thunderous applause.