[E-Daily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] “There’s something at the Busan International Film Festival that the Cannes Film Festival doesn’t have: the chance to experience the audience’s passionate enthusiasm firsthand.”

Japanese director Koji Fukada, who met with E-Daily on the 8th at Dongseo University’s Centum Campus in Haeundae-gu, Busan—the venue for the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)—shared these thoughts on attending the festival for the second consecutive year. “I can feel that the enthusiasm of Korean film fans hasn’t waned,” he said, adding, “I’ve heard there are also many hit films coming out.”

Director Fukada gained international attention when his feature film *Harmonium* (2016) won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival. Since then, his film *Profile* (2019) was invited to the competition section at the 72nd Locarno International Film Festival, and *Love Life* (2022) was invited to the competition section at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. “Love Trial” (2025) was invited to the Cannes Première section at the 78th Cannes International Film Festival, and his new film “Nagi Note” (2026) was invited to the Competition section at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival.

He believes the Busan International Film Festival stands out from other international film festivals because it offers the opportunity to connect directly with audiences. Director Fukada stated, “The Cannes International Film Festival feels like a specialized space primarily frequented by film professionals, industry insiders, and journalists,” adding, “In contrast, in Busan, you can directly feel the audience’s passionate enthusiasm.”

He also expressed his excitement, noting that he had to attend a Q&A session with the audience after the interview. “They don’t hold Q&A sessions at the world’s three major film festivals, including Cannes,” he said, adding, “I think Busan is the film festival where you can best feel the passion of Asia.”

Director Fukada met with audiences through *Nagi Note*, which was invited to the Icon Section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival. *Nagi Note* is a film set in Nagi, a small village in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, that delicately portrays loneliness, the family system, and traces of patriarchy. It took about 10 years to complete the film, a process that began with the discovery of Nagi as a setting and continued through on-site research and historical investigation of the actual region.

The film’s origins date back to before 2016. Director Fukada said, “Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata introduced me to the unique atmosphere of Nagi Town and suggested that I adapt his play ‘Tokyo Note’ into a film.” After visiting the Nagi Town Museum of Contemporary Art, Director Fukada was captivated by the space, where architecture, art, and the local community were deeply intertwined. Rather than adapting the play—which was set in Tokyo—he decided to write an original screenplay set in Nagi Town.

Director Fukada, who was born and raised in Tokyo, said, “Life in a local community was unfamiliar territory to me.” He added, “I traveled to Nagi myself to conduct interviews and research the region’s history and way of life. That’s why it took about 10 years for the film to be completed.”

Director Fukada explained that the characteristics of the local community he discovered in Nagi influenced both the characters and the themes of the film. In a region where transportation and career options are limited compared to Tokyo, life naturally revolves around carrying on the family business or working in agriculture. He focused on how individual identities and ways of life are revealed or concealed in such an environment.

In particular, his experience of struggling to meet members of the LGBTQ+ community during his research led to a key theme in the film. Director Fukada said, “Nagi has a population of about 5,000—it’s impossible that there aren’t any LGBTQ+ people there, but I couldn’t meet any. The topic didn’t even come up during my research,” adding, “This means they’ve been rendered invisible.”

He continued, “This is true not only in Nagi but in most regions of Japan. I believe society has rendered them invisible,” emphasizing, “I felt we needed to portray them as natural, integral members of society rather than making them invisible.”

Patriarchy is also a central theme of the film. Director Fukada revealed that, to portray a character who challenges patriarchy, he cast a woman living alone as the protagonist and, since the film begins in an art museum, also established her profession as an artist. Yoriko and Yuri are characters who have stepped outside the framework of marriage and family to live their own lives.

Director Fukada said, “I don’t think about what to expect from the audience or whether I’m trying to convey a specific message or theme,” adding, “What matters is how I portray it.” Regarding the fact that the characters in the film exist outside the framework of patriarchy and the family system, she noted, “Whether the audience can relate to them is up to them,” and added, “If they can sense how I feel about patriarchy and the family system, that’s what matters.”