High Life

HIGH LIFE #12 Sep 2017 81 “For western society, Asia is quite a special place,” she explained. “As a female director who was raised in the rural region of Nara, what I was trying to express in my works is universal to all human beings. “I think Cannes appreciates and encourages young directors from different places all over the world to seek this universal vision through their own eyes and I think that’s why they keep on finding young directors.” Though first recognized internationally for her feature films, Naomi has spent a lot of her time working on documentaries inspired, for the most part, by her upbringing. Raised in the rural region of Nara, Naomi’s parents divorced early in her childhood, leaving her to be raised by her great- aunt, withwhomshe held a combative yet loving relationship. That youth spent in Nara has had a drastic impact on her career and many of her early forays into filmmaking were autobiographical, inspired by the rural landscape she knew so well. “I was born in Nara and know it quite well,” the director explains. “Maybe I can make films in Tokyo or Paris, but only Nara is where I’m from. The purest part of myself when making films is in Nara.” Naomi’s family history used to be the overarching subject of many of her short films, most notably “Embracing” (1992) and “Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth” (2001), which trace her search for her absent parents and her quest to reconnect with her father, as well as the aftermath of his death. However, she has since moved on. “It’s been almost 30 years since I finished ‘Embracing’,” she reflects. “I must say I’m not thinking about him all the time, although that doesn’t mean I don’t do it anymore. It’s not lost. I think many people have had a similar experience: it’s not gone, but you can put your past aside.”