Sabu on film

Attending a seminar with Japanese director/actor Sabu (Tanaka Hiroyuki) yesterday, left me with many lasting impressions of a very nice man and inspired filmmaker, with a renewed belief in the strength of a visual encounter with reality.
Instead of an account of the raw materials, which I'd have to deal out to you mostly undigested anyway, here's a recap of what's been on the agenda so you can pick from the menu whatever dish serves you best and follow up on these lines to your own liking:

Sabu-san stated his mild wonder on observing the ever changing ways of jeans fashion...
he mused about walking and running not as mere ways of covering a distance but a state of existence rather, the universal human condition and our forever deathward race...
he asked that any original idea be seen through to the end, even if it's not particularly good...
he shared his observation of the future lying to the left and the past to the right hand side...
he added that this however, may vary due to different idiosyncrasies in different cultures...
he reported on how he uses to detail his scripts down to every single bit and piece of a scene's ultimate composition...
he told about partial amnesia, about waking up one morning in some nondescript hotel room with seaweed in your trouser pockets, then stepping to the window - to discover you're in HK...
there was a quick mentioning of having inspired Tom Tykwer back in 1997 (sic!)...
Sabu-san filled us in on his intention to shoot his next film in Germany (yes yes!), touched on the peculiar problems of location scouting in Berlin and revealed his hopes for filming with Beat Takeshi in the future...
above all, he strongly suggested to all of us a keen sense of inspiration, a believe in the power of intuition and simply, the joy of making films.

Many thanks be for the patience he displayed and the obvious passion for his craft that he let us have more than just a slight glimpse of. To anyone concerned: do watch his movies when you can, it's worth it!

(pic©www.de.emb-japan.go.jp)