‘Resigned to reality’: the Japanese filmmakers who need a second job to make a living, and the Palme d’Or winner determined to improve their lot

Japan has watched South Korea become a global TV and movie powerhouse while its own film industry has ‘looked inwards’, Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda says

He joined young filmmakers on a Netflix series in Japan, none of whom see the job as giving them a living. ‘Our filmmaking environment must change,’ he says

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Film director Hirokazu Kore-eda fears that Japan’s underfunded, inward-looking cinema industry is putting off young talent, so he’s taken matters into his own hands by mentoring up-and-coming filmmakers for a new Netflix series. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:15pm, 31 Dec 2022

Acclaimed Japanese film director Hirokazu Kore-eda fears that the country’s underfunded, inward-looking cinema industry is putting off young talent, so he’s taken matters into his own hands by mentoring up-and-coming filmmakers for a Netflix series.

Kore-eda, whose 2018 film Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, says that complacent attitudes and poor working conditions are holding Japan back in cinema and TV while its neighbour South Korea powers ahead internationally.

“Our filmmaking environment must change,” he says, calling for an end to the low pay, long hours and insecurity faced by those trying to hone their skills.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been able to focus solely on improving my own filmmaking. But now, when I look around me, I see that young people are no longer choosing to work in film and television.”

Hirokazu Kore-Eda attends a photo call for his film “Broker during the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AFP

To help tackle the issue, the director of Broker and Our Little Sister collaborated with three younger protégés to make a Netflix series set in tradition-steeped Kyoto.