Lead Actress and Writer of Echoes of the Shadows, Which Makes its North American Premiere at Hysteria Fest 2024.
ZekeFilm: What compelled you to write the script for Echoes of the Shadows? Were there specific messages you were trying to express, or was it more of an exploration of thoughts?
Noriko Kohara: In Japan, during the COVID-19 situation, the number of actors making films was increasing, and I had some free time in my own acting career, so I decided to make a film with my friends. I volunteered to write the screenplay because I had always been interested in it, having written it in the drama club when I was a student, and because I was intrigued by the life of the main character, Yasuko. I wanted to depict Yasuko as a human being without any personas, and I wanted to depict the emotions that welled up in her, without the need to be a mother.
ZekeFilm: In the film, the neighbor seems to be both a further antagonist to Yasuko, but there is also a sympathetic view of him and his loneliness. Was there a particular angle you had in mind when writing his character?
Noriko Kohara: I moved from the countryside to the city at the age of 19 and have seen many different people pursuing their dreams in Tokyo over the past 17 years, and I consider my neighbor, Isao, to be a person who epitomizes these people. He has a complex and compares himself to those around him, and as he pursues his own happiness, his vision becomes narrower and narrower, and he tries to find relief by finding justice within himself. I believe that justice can easily become myopic, so I incorporated that perspective in his change.
ZekeFilm: Was there anything from your life that particularly inspired the ideas explored in the film?
Noriko Kohara: The inspiration was the house where I was born and raised. It was a detached house, so it was not an apartment, but it was a very old house. That Japanese-style room where Yasuko and Yutaka lived was what I had imagined when I was writing the script, and I often imagined the scenery of my parents’ house. Poverty is another theme in this film. The characters’ conflicts and pride are greatly influenced by their living space, so I think my childhood memories had a great influence on the film.
ZekeFilm: The film has a very unique visual style. How aware were you of the look while writing, and was that part of the process while visualizing the story?
Noriko Kohara: I totally entrusted camera blocking and camerawork to the director. The use of mirrors and glass windows was not something I had imagined when I was writing the script, so I am very glad that Takeshi Furusawa directed the film. I feel that because the scriptwriter and the director were different, the film did not have expository shots, which allowed the audience to imagine the film more.
ZekeFilm: Where does your career go now after making this film, and did the experience of making it help guide any future decisions?
Noriko Kohara: For this film, I discussed and revised the script with the director right up to the last minute before shooting. After that experience, I decided that I wanted to study screenwriting more seriously, so I attended a screenwriting school and graduated this spring. I would like to continue both acting and writing in the future. I am currently working on a new project and hope to continue making films with directors who create images beyond my imagination.