Taichi Kimura’s drama “Fujiko,” which Japanese actor and producer Megumi spent four years producing and starring, left the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine with two awards: the Golden Mulberry Audience Award and the Black Dragon Press Jury Award alongside the Korean documentary “Seoul Guardians.” This is a double realization that underpins the pivot of Megumi’s career, which she started out of necessity during the pandemic, and which has since become a personal mission.
“I wanted to empower Japanese women through the film,” Megumi told Variety magazine, citing a news story that said Japan was ranked last in the world in terms of women’s self-esteem. This statistic was the animating impulse behind Fujiko, Taichi’s own family history, about a single mother searching for personal freedom amid the social upheaval of Shizuoka in the 1970s and 1980s. This film brings together an ensemble led by Yuki Katayama, with Lily Franky, YOU, Issey Ogata, Kayoko Kishimoto, and Tsuyoshi Ujiki co-starring with SC Films International. We sell all over the world. Before heading to Udine, I opened Nippon Connection in Germany.
This turning point marks a major evolution for the actor, who has been working on screen for more than 20 years. She won the 2020 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in The Storm and One Night, and her credits include the crime drama Blood of the Wolf, Season 2 of Netflix’s The Naked Director, and the historical drama series The Inner Chambers. On the unscripted side, her Netflix series “Badly in Love” broke records for the platform and led to a multi-year deal to develop new content.
But the pandemic completely changed her relationship with the industry. After years of relying on offers from others, she decided it was time to produce her own material. After that, he visited Cannes and witnessed the growing interest in Japanese films internationally, and was convinced of the direction he wanted to take.
Following Japan’s selection as a “Land of Honor” at this year’s Cannes Film Market, she interprets the designation as recognition of something enduring in the country’s creative culture. “The uniquely Japanese discipline of practicing and training, like a mille-feuille, and the accumulation of these disciplines conveys a quiet passion to others,” she says. “I feel like that is being reconsidered now.” There are three films in Japan this year competing for the Palme d’Or.
Megumi describes herself as a rare person in the Japanese film industry: an actor who is also a producer. She said no two people in Japan are in quite the same position, and as Japan’s global profile grows, she intends to leverage its dual identity internationally.
Sustaining “Fujiko” over four years of development was a challenge in itself. “During those four years, I think the most important and difficult thing was waving the flag to everyone and saying, “Let’s make it fun this way,” and continuing to maintain that enthusiasm,” she says.
On the acting front, her schedule is packed. “Nameless” directed by Hideo Jo will be released in Japan in May. She also appears in the Netflix drama series “This Is I,” and is scheduled to begin filming an untitled Japanese-English co-production (starring only) next month.
She has two untitled projects in development as a producer. One is built around the relationship between a distinctive middle-aged man and his daughter, and the other is drawn from the most painful experiences of her own life, the details of which are kept secret.
She points to directors Makoto Nagahisa and Taichi Kimura, both of whom have roots in the advertising industry, as role models for the generation that will rebuild Japan’s international standing. “Works in that genre are uniquely Japanese, with their unique tempo, musical flavor, and symbolism,” she says. “I think they have the power to be accepted.”
The touchstone that guides her as a performer is the late Kirin Kiki (“Shoplifters”). “I want to express the nuances of ordinary people,” he says.
