My interview with director, Ogata Takaomi, titled “Through a Theater Darkly” is now live on the Indievisual Magazine site.

Ogata-san is a filmmaker who intentionally makes movies which are not easy to watch, and therefore not tremendous box-office draws. This makes him by definition an independent director. A filmmaker willing to take those risks in order to make the movies about the topics which he wishes to address and in a manner consistent with a personal philosophy. It is rare to see a director so dedicated to objectivity who isn’t actively making documentaries but narrative fiction instead which first caught my attention. However, when I learned he counts as his influences the Dardenne Brothers and fellow countryman Kore-eda Hirokazu, all of whom began as documentary filmmakers, the “leap of faith” he took when he began seems less reckless and perhaps rather calculated. His latest movie, “The Hungry Lion”, recently world-premiered at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival’s Japanese Cinema Splash section. Perhaps, he is on the cusp of breaking out onto the world stage just as those he admires.

Find out more about Ogata Takaomi in my interview which you can read by clicking here.