Sunday, July 3, 2011

Nobuhiko Obayashi directs new film about Nagaoka fireworks festival

by Chris MaGee

Most of you by now will have seen Nobuhiko Obayashi's "House"... and we certainly hope that you're a fan! That mindf**k of a horror film was of course the feature film debut of Nobuhiko Obayashi (who got his start as an experimental film-maker), but since that time Obayashi has given us films as varied as the 1983 live-action adaptation of "The Girl Who Leapt through Time" to his own retelling of the story of the notorious Sada Abe. Now 73-years-old Obayashi (above left) is still making films, in fact this past week it was announced that he is currently shooting his 41st feature film titled "Kono Sora no Hana".

The film will be set in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture and the city's annual fireworks festival. Nagaoka has been holding this event since 1946 as a way to promote world peace. Obayashi has apparently been doing research on this film for two years, and he has cast 38-year-old actress Yasuko Matsuyuki (above right) in the lead role. This will be a bit of a departure for Obayashi who is famous for setting his films in his seaside hometown of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Thanks to Tokyograph for this news.

No comments: