Kering Women in Motion, an allied program of the Tokyo International Film Festival, held a talk event on Tuesday at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills for a packed crowd. Director Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”) opened the event with brief remarks. How to pass this on to the next generation and spread it further is a challenge for the older generation, and I think it’s also very important for film fans who are exposed to these works.” The panelists – Arashi singer and actor Ninomiya Kazunari, producer Murata Chieko and Amy Homma, director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Academy Collection – spoke about the present and future of Japanese cinema, as well as diversity and inclusion in the industry, with journalist Tatsuta Atsuko serving as facilitator.
Murata, the producer of the 2025 smash-hit kabuki-themed drama “Kokuho,” which received rave reviews abroad and was nominated for a Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar, said she wanted to “create something that will move as many people as possible, make as many people laugh as possible, and make as many people cry as possible.” For that to happen, she added, tolerance of varying cultural perspectives is essential. Homma commented that as a museum director in charge of various teams doing everything from research to marketing, “It’s always about who the best person would be.” Her aim, she added, was “for many people to bring their own cultural differences or their own unique qualities and have that be seen as a strength. I don’t want anyone to shy or hide their individualism.” Diversity “across gender expression, across ethnicity and across ages,” she said, “is what makes for a great team,” adding, “It’s about plural thinking, not individual thinking.”
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