At the TIFF Lounge at the Tokyo International Film Festival, two of the most unique voices in global cinema, Cambodia’s Lissie Pine and Japan’s Sho Miyake, shared the stage to discuss filmmaking, memory, and work. Pearn, who speaks French, was president of the Locarno Film Festival jury that awarded Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers the Golden Leopard earlier this year. Mr. Miyake responded in Japanese.
Mr. Pearn said he was glad to be reunited with Mr. Miyake after Mr. Locarno, and recalled that the jury was unanimous. “That doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “I don’t usually watch movies, but this movie moved me. It’s about solitude and the beauty of everyday gestures. When a director places his camera where human grace is revealed, that’s what movies are about.”
Miyake said that although the film is based on a story by manga artist Yoshiharu Tsuge, the real focus is on working with modern actors. “We can only film what they will look like now, in 2025,” he says. “In 10 years, that version will no longer be there. I want to record something that only exists in this moment.”
Pan said the film reminded him of his work in Africa, where he photographed the Dogon people and learned the word dama, which means divine blessing. “There is light inside every person,” he said. “When the camera finds it, it sees beauty at every level of human life.”
Mr. Miyake expressed his gratitude and called on the audience to watch the movie in theaters. “It’s a beautiful movie,” he said of Two Seasons, Two Strangers. “Editing, lighting, acting, and time are all in harmony.”
Turning to Pearn’s new film We Are the Fruits of the Forest, which had its world premiere in Tokyo, the director described it as “a political film about capitalism’s destruction of nature and community. It’s about gestures about work, survival and dignity.” He said that for forest minorities, “the land, the spirit, the trees, the wind and the sun are essential.” The film depicts their resistance to the modern economy through the physical act of labor, he said.
Miyake said the idea resonated with him and reminded him of his grandfather in Hokkaido, who worked as a farmer and coal miner. “I wanted to take a picture of his hand, but I ended up not taking it,” he said. “Your film reminded me of what I lost and why I wanted to make films in the first place.”
Both reflect how viewing habits have changed. “Everyone is looking at small screens now,” Pearn said. “Each episode is about two subway stops long,” Miyake said, adding, “I’m not criticizing the format, but what we’re doing is different. We’re making a full meal rather than a snack.”
Pearn said he plans to shoot his next project on Super 8 film, explaining the choice as a protest against the dominance of the mini-digital format. “I don’t know if anyone sees it,” he said. “If no one wants to take a look at it, maybe I’ll open a fast food restaurant instead.”
Pang talked about recurring themes in his work and said that although he frequently revisits the Khmer Rouge era, it remains part of his life story. “Movies saved me,” he said. “I am the only Cambodian filmmaker who has worked on those memories, but at the same time I continue to look for new cinematic forms and perspectives.”
Asked about the meaning of work, Miyake said he learned something from every type of labor, even the most difficult. “It’s more of an experience than a job,” he says. “Experiences shape us,” said Pern, who has worked throughout his life, sometimes by force, sometimes by choice. “I said I wanted to quit,” he said. “My wife says, ‘You’ll never quit.’ Maybe she’s right.”
Pearn said teaching film is another way to learn. “Empathy, the care we give to the most vulnerable, is a political act,” he said. “I get angry a lot. The world isn’t simple. But I try to stay calm and think about something positive every day. That’s the definition of my job: to keep learning and to keep hoping.”
Director Miyake said, “I don’t know if anyone will watch my next work. But if one work reaches someone with empathy, that’s enough reason to continue.”
Two Seasons, Two Strangers will be released in Japan next week.
