Goodbye, Grandpa!

I can’t be happier to make my first feature film on an original script.
I felt I felt a lump in my throat after watching the first cut with my team. It was like my boyhood self saying “good job” to me which made me suffocated. Can this film satisfy people? Can it make any change to someone’s life? My boyhood self made a big pressure on me. I was deeply influenced by movies at childhood therefore I wish my film will swim majestically in the big ocean like a whale.
My biggest luck was to meet the genius scriptwriter, Sahoko Yamazaki. I heard that she was a “shape” “crotchety” person to be careful with, but we hit it off well with each other right after first meet. We are at same age and have much in common. As we were sharp-tongued on things, I could easily image working with her. The next day she sent me the script of “Goodbye, Grandpa!”. I read it without stopping whilst recalling my grandfather and grandmother, and tears fell in drops. I called her right away and said I’ll make it into a film. Every word in the dialogue seems to be simple but is full of meaning. I guess we wrote 20 revisions. Words in between lines makes the expression richer as well.
When summer comes, it reminds me the shooting of “Goodbye, Grandpa!” My team was made of old pals from my TVC projects so I thought it’d be just like my ordinary works. But after all, it was totally different for a film shooting. I felt the responsibility to be the leader and felt the team following my willing to ramble forward. That was a precious experience of my lifetime. I remember the meal boxes made by the people in town, on each with my team name (=Morigaki-kumi) written. I am so grateful to the staff and the cast, for bringing me so much fun at shooting.