MY SUNSHINE © 2024?BOKU NO OHISAMA?Production Committee & COMME DES CINEMAS
Boku No Ohisama (My Sunshine), as seen by Hiroshi Okuyama
28-year-old filmmaker Hiroshi Okuyama likes to ease audiences into a child’s perspective, just like Kore-eda, member of the Feature Film Jury this year, and a director he very much admires. Six years after his début film Jesus, he brings My Sunshine to Un Certain Regard, featuring a surprising, figure skating double act inspired by his own memories.
Tell us about how you got the idea for your film.
I wanted to make a film about figure skating, which I had done as a child, but I couldn’t do it. I had to resign myself to the fact that conjuring up memories isn’t enough to make a film. I then came across the track ‘My Sunshine’ by Humbert Humbert and started listening to it daily, which is how the story I was meant to film took shape. Around the same time, I met Sosuke Ikematsu and had the unshakeable sense that if I could manage to convey the actor’s charm on screen, I’d be able to make the film.
What was the atmosphere like on the shoot?
To me, doing a film is so much more than just making it: it’s about writing, filming and editing it. That means that on set, I watch the actors act, I tweak the script, and I start imagining the editing, taking on the role of director of photography. And for this film, I even slipped on my skates for some of the scenes I was filming. Trying to juggle it all meant I sometimes stumbled, but each time Sosuke Ikematsu, who played the lead, helped me as if he too were a director.
What can you tell us about your actors?
I chose young people who could skate for the parts of Takuya and Sakura. As they had no acting experience, I didn’t give them the script. For the dialogue, I gave them the bare minimum and asked them to freestyle the rest. For the role of coach Arakawa, I chose Sosuke Ikematsu, who I had met while shooting the brand film I made for Hermès. Once I’d seen the energy he gave off, I decided I would write the part for him.
“I learnt that all experiences are worthy of a film.”
What did you learn during the course of making this film?
I learnt that all experiences are worthy of a film. It was pure chance that I learnt figure skating as a kid and turned that into a film. I’ve always had this habit of clearing my throat, like a tic: my friends would make fun of me, and I hated it. This experience prompted me to create a protagonist with a stammer.
What would you like people to take away from your film?
I hope every audience member will empathise with Takuya and Sakura, delving back into forgotten childhood memories and how they felt back then.
What made you want to become a director?
Several events collided to push me in that direction. But once I had made my first film, I was sure the rest of my life would be devoted to making movies. During my time at the Stockholm Festival, I stopped in at Roy Andersson’s studio. I met him, and he very kindly talked me through his creative process. That was when I thought I wanted to devote my life to making films with as much conviction as he had.
