Earlier this
month, ARTE ran an interview with Tamaki Okamoto in order to learn more
about her Paris-based production/distribution company CaRTe bLaNChe which has
become a sensation at European film festivals.
She is the European distributor of a new wave of Japanese independent
animators and experimental filmmakers like Atsushi Wada, who won the Silver Bear in 2012 for his animated short
The Great Rabbit (2012). She also represents some of the films of
young artists such as Mirai Mizue, Isamu Hirabayashi, Tadasuke Kotani, Yoriko
Mizushiri, Shin Hashimoto, and TOCHKA, among others. CaRTe bLaNChe also distributes the recent
works of more established experimental filmmakers such as the legendary Keiichi Tanaami (see: Chalet
Pointu DVD) and Keita Kurosaka (Midori-ko). Their catalogue also features some
non-Japanese artists such as Hakhyun Kim’s
Greeum and Cédric Dupire and Gaspard
Kuentz’s exploration of the Tokyo music scene We Don’t Care About Music Anyway (2009).
I have
embedded the interview below. It can be viewed in German or French. For those of you who speak neither, I have translated
the interview into English below, beginning with the introductory blurb from the ARTE
website:
The
Great Rabbit and other films by [Atsushi] Wada are part of the catalogue of
works distributed by the Paris-based Japanese Tamaki Okamoto. Far from her native land, she has developed a
unique perspective on animation. Artists
and filmmakers who make works that are a far cry from mainstream manga, but
also a far cry from the well-worn Kafkaesque paths of the usual festival and
television markets, have found in her both a supporting voice and a
producer/distributor.
Who is this woman whose company CaRTe
bLaNChe has become such a talking point [at the Berlinale]? How does she work, and what motivates her
work?
Interview by:
Catherine Kohler (sp?) and Daniel Pfeiffer
Narrator: Three years ago, Tamaki Okamoto established
her own production company called CaRTe bLaNChe in Paris. She is known for excellence and originality
and has a unique taste for extraordinary aesthetics. Like the owner of an art gallery, she looks
after her artists and promotes their projects to great international acclaim.
Tamaki
Okamoto (TO): I try to keep a small catalogue. That’s not always easy to do. At the same time, it’s not easy to find films
that one really falls in love with. I struggle
to find artists whose work really moves me.
That only happens once or twice a year, and that’s fine by me. It’s a bit like human relationships. Our criteria for selecting films has to do
with feelings. With too many films, it
would be hard for me to be in love with all of them. That’s the reason why I don’t have such a
thick catalogue like other production companies.
TO: I work mainly with young filmmakers, but
there are a couple of exceptions. For
example, Keiichi Tanaami. He is the eldest
artist that I work with, but also the most open. Tanaami is 74 years old, is extremely well
known in Japan, and has had an exceptional career. His work inspires me because he’s so truly open
and fresh in his ideas. He’s so curious
and doesn’t set any boundaries for himself.
That’s why at 74 he has created his own artistic world. That’s my dream. After all, he’s the first artist that I worked
with [when I established CaRTe bLaNChe].
TO: It’s a bit like the mise-en-scène in cinema. Daily, I toil with the mise-en-scène and I
love it. I love to help create a certain
creative voice that gives people a kind of desire to live life. People need that. The possibility of that is the function of
cinema for me and I think it is reflected in the films that I select. And it perhaps affects the kind of films that
I decide to produce. I greatly value the
production process of my auteurs – I am very sensitive to the needs of the
artist at work and I concern myself with all the small details. I must
admit that I love directors who are workaholics, even slightly obsessive. In my daily life as a cineaste I am also a
bit obsessive.
[Okamoto drinks
tea in a split screen with a tea-drinking scene from Yumi Joung’s Love Games (2012)]
TO: I think some of the big festivals take short films
as a kind of a test. A short film before
a long film as a kind of apprentice piece.
In my view, that’s not the right way to look at it. This format is perfect for demonstrating true
creativity. That is particularly the
case with animation. I often find that the
truly creative and extraordinarily interesting animated films are all short
films. When one makes long films, one
needs a script and a certain kind of format.
It’s a much more conventional medium [than short films]. It constrains creativity. From my point-of-view, it’s easier for
filmmakers to express themselves using the short film format. As I said, there are festivals who understand
the trailblazing nature of short films, and there are festivals who don’t get it. I think the Berlinale totally gets it. That’s why the Berlinale is a natural fit for
my films. And for the past three years I
have been lucky to have the chance to show films at the Berlinale.
Narrator: The film WONDER by Mirai Mizue is currently competing
in the Shorts category. Here [5:58-] is
an exclusive sample of the film for our audience.
[there is
also a short clip of Yoriko Mizushiri’s Futon
(2012) at the very end]
Programme: Kurzschluss #677
Broadcaster: ARTE France - ZDF -
Deutschland 2014
First
broadcast: Sunday, 7 February 2014, 23:25
English translation by Anna Maria Hotes and Catherine Munroe Hotes
Additional text by Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014.
