Japanese director Sho Miyake reveals insights into filmmaking

Japanese director Sho Miyake has served as Jury President for the Asian New Talent section of the Golden Goblet Awards at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival.

"I really love Shanghai," Miyake said. He praised the city's greenery, energy, and the enthusiasm of its filmgoers.

"What moves me the most is that every time I come to Shanghai, I can see audiences of all ages coming together to watch films," he said.

Known for films like "Small, Slow But Steady," and "All the Long Nights," Miyake has earned recognition in Asian cinema for his gentle yet powerful storytelling.

Speaking about his jury role, Miyake emphasized the difficulty of filmmaking. "Filmmaking is a difficult process, and finishing a film is already a miracle," he said.

He watches each debut film with both the heart of an audience member and a spirit of encouragement.

This year, 12 films from across the world were selected for the Asian New Talent section.

Miyake said he doesn't focus on where a film comes from when judging. "I try to look beyond the director's nationality or the film's country of production," he said.

Asked about young directors mimicking film masters, Miyake was understanding. "The history of cinema has over a hundred years," he said. "It's natural to start by imitating great directors. But each actor in front of them is a new encounter - the new directors should use that to create something only they can make."

On the challenges of filmmaking, Miyake admitted that securing funding is often the hardest part. "I've been lucky," he said.

He advised young filmmakers to find collaborators who share the same understanding of good films.

"Working with people who understand what kind of movie you want to make is more important than just finding someone with money," he said.

Miyake's films often center on marginalized individuals, but he focuses less on their struggles and more on their resilience.

"What interests me is how they face problems and take action," he said. "There's a real strength in that."

He discovered his love for filmmaking at 15, after shooting his first short film. "That's when I really fell in love with cinema," he said.

Stairs and slopes often appear in his work, but Miyake said this is purely coincidental."We always choose locations that best fit the story during filmmaking," he said."It just happened that some of them had staircases or slopes."

Though his genre is realism, Miyake once experimented with horror.However, he said he isn't a big fan of the genre and has no short-term plans to return to it - but is open to trying again in the future.

His new film "Drive My Car" will be released in Japan this November. "I really hope Chinese audiences will have a chance to see it," he said.

Miyake is highly regarded by former University of Tokyo president and film critic Shigehiko Hasumi, who called him "a representative director of the third golden age of Japan's cinema."

Miyake said he was honoured by the praise. "I've learned a lot from Mr Hasumi's books," he said. "He taught me that you must first immerse yourself in it completely before analyzing it."

This year's Asian New Talent jury also includes Chinese director and actor Dong Zijian, Vietnamese director Pham Thien An, Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, and Chinese actress Zhang Zifeng.

Miyake mentioned he had seen Nawapol's "Happy Old Year" in Japan and even wrote a review of it for a Japanese film magazine.

Miyake is currently working on the script for his next film. He hopes to collaborate with Chinese actors in the coming days.