On March 30th, actor Ryusei Yokohama attended the preview of the completion of the movie “Village” in which he plays the main role, along with director Fujii Michihito, who will be his 6th tag. He talked regarding his thoughts on Mitsunori Kawamura, the representative of Star Sands, who died in June 2022, and served as the planning, production, and executive producer of this work.
Set in a closed world called a “village”, this work depicts the real appearance of the people living there with overwhelming visual beauty and worldview. Mr. Yokohama plays Yuu Katayama, a young man who not only bears the stigma of his father’s incident in this village, but also pays off his mother’s debts and works at a huge final disposal site.
At the beginning of the opening, Mr. Yokohama, who showed confidence that “I have completed a work of Konmi,” said, “This is my first lead role in a feature film directed by Director Fujii, who has been with me for seven years and has been indebted to me both professionally and privately. I put my heart and soul into it, and got even more fired up,” he recalls. She put her full trust in Director Fujii, saying, “During the script writing stage, I told the director regarding my fears and hesitation as an actor, and reworked it many times to create a script with love.”
He then said, “This work contains Mr. Kawamura’s passion.” If there is anything left, please let the people around you know.”
Since establishing the film company Star Sands in 2008, Mr. Kawamura has released numerous works with his unique planning ability that combines sociality and entertainment. One of the last people who entrusted his filmmaking genes was Fujii, who was selected as the director of “The Newspaper Reporter”, which won the Best Picture Award at the 43rd Japan Academy Awards.
Director Fujii greeted me, saying, “The Star Sands who raised me, starring Ryusei. I was almost overwhelmed by the responsibility, but Ryusei encouraged me from the script stage.” . Mr. Kawamura was also present at the all-up of this work, and said, “I wanted to show you the finished work, but I think you are happy that it will reach everyone.” “I think the answer will change depending on your position, age, and the environment you grew up in, but I hope you will cherish that answer,” he appealed to the audience.
In addition to Mr. Yokohama and Director Fujii, co-stars Haru Kuroki, Wataru Ichinose, Daikane Okudaira, Ryuto Sakuma, and Arata Furuta were present at the completion preview.
“Village” will be released nationwide from April 21 (Friday).
