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| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-10-07 10:43:35
BUSAN, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda said Wednesday that he kept asking himself why people create art as he made his latest film, "Look Back," which is being presented at the 31st Busan International Film Festival.
"'Look Back' is a story about the calling that creators carry and something they hold inside," Kore-eda said at a press conference at the Busan Cinema Center. "I made the film with the question of why people create in the back of my mind."
"Look Back" is a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of the popular manga series "Chainsaw Man."
The film follows Fujino, a rural girl who loves drawing manga, and Kyomoto, a reclusive girl, as they meet, bond over their passion for manga and grow together. The characters are played by Natsuki Deguchi and Fūri Nanase as Fujino, and Aju Makita and Roka Okada as Kyomoto.
Kore-eda decided to make the film after discovering the original manga by chance at a bookstore.
"I will never forget the shock I felt when I bought the manga at a bookstore and read it at home that night," he said. "It made me ask myself, 'Why do people write stories? Why do they create? Why do they make films?'"
"I wanted to express the shock I felt at that time through a film," he said, describing the original manga as "a work that gave me an opportunity to confront cinema once again."
"Look Back," the first live-action film adaptation of one of Fujimoto's manga works, drew attention from the production stage and was also invited to the competition section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival last month.
The film depicts the long friendship between the young Fujino and Kyomoto over 13 years through changing views of their town as the seasons pass.
Instead of a digital camera, Kore-eda used 35mm film to capture the rural landscape with a warm feel.
"From the moment the decision was made to adapt this work into a film, I told the producer that I wanted to shoot it on 35mm film," he said. "Shooting on film allows you to focus on capturing what is happening only here and at this moment."
He added that shooting on film limits aspects that can later be altered in postproduction.
"I believe that the sense of tension created on such a set becomes a kind of field of energy that is captured in the work and conveyed to the audience," he said.
Kore-eda also expressed particular affection for the four actors with whom he worked.
"The four actors felt almost like my daughters," he said. "The atmosphere on set was truly peaceful, comfortable and wonderful."
"The four actors lived as if they were actually people living in that neighborhood," he said. "Rather than directing every detail, I tried to carefully capture in the film the time the four shared, along with the changing seasons and light flowing through the town."
Kore-eda has met audiences at the Busan festival several times with his previous films, including "Monster" (2023), "The Truth" (2019) and "Still Walking" (2008).
"Busan is a place I've been invited to since my debut," he said. "I'm happy to return with a film to this festival and to the city of Busan, which I have a great affection for."
Deguchi, Makita, Nanase and Okada also traveled to South Korea for the festival. Kore-eda walked the red carpet with the actors at the opening ceremony Tuesday.
"Look Back," invited to the Busan festival's Gala Presentation section, will be screened once Wednesday afternoon, followed by a guest Q&A with Kore-eda and the cast.
The film is set to open in South Korean theaters Thursday.
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