Art is a Beautiful Weapon

koki feat

On the last day of this year’s Kustendorf, Kohki Hasei held a workshop for students, following the screening of his movie, Blanka. This is Hasei’s first feature film, and it was preceded by two short films. In 2009, Hasei won the Golden Egg at Kustendorf. Given that the majority of his actors were kids, the Japanese director spoke about the process he worked by and the criteria that he used to choose actors. It took eight months to prepare for filming, while the actual shooting on the Philippines took 21 days. Working with children was not challenging because the director believes that the most important thing for a movie is openness, emotionality, and that the film has no boundaries. The director insisted that the actors for this subject be people from the street, but also that the casting choice depends on the script and what the director wants to say. When asked whether he plans on making a film in Serbia, Hasei responded that he is thinking about it. Hasei also took the opportunity to express his gratitude to Professor Emir Kusturica and his family for all the memories he has made here on Mecavnik and for always being able to come back here. For Kohki Hasei, Mecavnik is the home of film. After Blanka won at the Biennale of student films in Venice in 2015, the president of the Biennale told the Japanese director that art is a weapon. Kohki Hasei believes that art is a beautiful weapon and that he believes in film and that faith in what you are doing is crucial during the work process.