Interview With Adam Torel

       

AN INTERVIEW

WITH

ADAM TOREL

Written by Josh Parmer

JP: Before we jump into things, what movies have you been into recently? I know you watch a ton of films.

AT: Hmm, I guess some things I’ve liked a lot recently are: Ken and Kazu, Three Stories of Love, Happy Hour, Being Good, and Pieta in the Toilet.

JP: Anything that really stands out of the bunch?

AT: Ken and Kazu probably. A first time, young Japanese filmmaker with a very tight and entertaining genre title done on a minuscule budget. Would compare it to Yang Ik-joon’s Breathless in many ways.

JP: Where did your passion for cinema start, and in particular, your love of Japanese cinema?

AT: I’ve been into cinema since I was very young, and worked at many cinemas and video rental shops as a teenager. I guess I learnt the most working at a shop in Florida in the US called Video Renaissance, which had about 35,000 titles, including thousands of out of print VHS tapes and such. It was heaven. I had insomnia at the time, and with that, plus watching while at the shop, I would watch 8 films a day! 

I would watch a lot of French and Italian titles of the 60's when I was young (I’ve been into 60's culture, fashion and music since a very young age) and from there I got into Japanese 60's films, which opened the door to all other sorts of Japanese cinema. 

JP: Which directors and performers from Japanese cinema stick out to you the most, and why?

AT: I guess since I got into 60's cinema, the directors like Nagisa Oshima, Seijin Suzuki, Yasuharu Hasebe, Yasuzo Masumura were the ones who got me into Japanese cinema and whom I loved from an early age. Then of course genre directors like Kinji Fukusasku and Kenji Misumi had a lot of impact on me. Recently of course, Takeshi Kitano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Sogo Ishii, Sion Sono and Takashi Miike are all very important!

Three classic Kitano films available through Third Window Films.

JP: How did the idea for Third Window Films come about?

AT: From an early age I always wanted to help promote Japanese cinema as much as I could, whether teaching lectures at a nearby University, suggesting titles at the video shop I worked in, or in other ways. At the same there was not much available on the internet or not many ways to find Japanese titles in the West (compared to the Hong Kong or Korean new wave, which were mostly available with English subtitles in one format or another), so I wanted to get into distribution. 

I moved back to the UK (I had been living in the US) and got a job at Tartan Films for a year, but despite my initial admiration for the company, I found working there was a totally different ballgame, so I decided to leave and start up my own distribution company and started Third Window in 2005, at the age of 22. 

JP: Being a huge fan of Asian cinema myself, and buying lots of films from all over the world, I really found myself attracted to your company, but as time goes on, I sometimes feel slightly worried. You take some risky choices in the titles you release, and I completely respect that and am very thankful that you do so, but how dangerous can that be for your company? You have to know going in that certain films aren't going to sell very well. What's your philosophy behind your picking in choosing?

Adam talking about Be My Baby at a festival.

AT: Yes, a while ago, when there were still high street retailers and no VOD, it was much easier to release obscure titles, even getting small theatrical releases (imagine, if you can, that titles like Fine Totally Fine and Funuke played in cinemas! That would NEVER happen now), so it was never as much a ‘risk’ as people would think, as these were obscure titles which no other distributor in the world had interest in taking on, so they weren’t expensive. Nowadays even Takashi Miike titles like Lesson of Evil are a risk! Even in recent years I’ve tried to squeeze in some super indie titles like Makeup Room, Shady, Be My Baby, etc. by sandwiching them between Shinya Tsukamoto or Takeshi Kitano classics, but it’s becoming close to impossible.

In fact, what I really love, is releasing small and unknown titles, but it’s just too tough nowadays and in fact, I’m losing all passion for what I love due to not being able to achieve anything from small titles. I guess that’s why I’ve recently been handling worldwide sales on Japanese titles, as it allows me to get titles into festivals and other distributors without having any risk onto myself, yet being able to get the titles out there nonetheless. 

JP: What are some of your favorite titles in the TWF catalog?

AT: That’s a hard question! I guess titles I’ve been the most proud (due to their success) are ones such as Confessions, Love Exposure, Kamikaze Girls, and Fish Story. Favorites would be, I guess maybe Memories of Matsuko, or Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, or Fine Totally Fine. I don’t know, it’s too hard!

Confessions

JP: How about a least favorite title, if that is possible?

Least favorite would be Teenage Hooker Became a Killing Machine, which I bought at a time when I was doing really poorly with other titles and needed something to sell (of which it did!).

JP: What's been the most rewarding experience for you in your career thus far? and also, which is your favorite and least favorite Third Window title you've released.

AT: Possibly the release of Confessions? I was the first to acquire and release it, and without any other staff, managed to get it into 50 cinemas, then sold massive amounts of DVDs and blu-rays, etc, yet without spending much money and having a poster design which was borrowed by so many other international distribution companies. I think that I really set the ball rolling on that title, and considering of all the other international distributors, that Third Window is really the smallest by far (in terms of money, man-power, etc.) I feel quite proud for what I did on that title. 

JP: So, for something for me personally, and I am sure some people are interested out there, when and how were you introduced to the works of Shinya Tsukamoto, and how has your relationship with him developed throughout the years? He seem so unique a person.

Shinya Tsukamoto

AT: Introduced as in first watched? I don’t remember to be honest. Must have been as a teenager with some of his earlier works, tough his long-time producer and sales agent has been a close friend since I started Third Window, so that helped me get into the position of being able to handle his titles, as I bought Kotoko off her, which probably started it all. As Tsukamoto recently took the majority of his catalog back (international copyrights and such), it allowed the whole restoration work to happen, as I could work directly with him.

He’s a super amazing guy, and working directly with a director who owns the copyright to his work is almost impossible outside of the super super indie scene in Japan. Even directors like Sogo Ishii, whose work I’ve tried to do the same with, have titles which copyrights are held in film committees from years back, which make it super hard to do similar to what I did with Tsukamoto. With Tsukamoto I suggested the idea a few years ago and he was very interested and since it was hassle free we just worked together on all aspects without needing to get other companies involved, so it was a fantastic experience.

JP: Are there any plans to do anymore Tsukamoto titles in the future? I know you've openly hinted at Vital, once the rights lapse.

AT: Yeah, I really wanted to do Vital next, but just found out the rights are held by Tartan until like 2024! So that’s impossible and a shame, as I don’t expect Tartan to release on blu-ray!

JP: With the older Tsukmaoto releases and your recent and forthcoming releases of the Takeshi Kitano films (which Hana-bi looks gorgeous by the way), is this going to become something more regular with TWF? More directors to look into? They seem to selling well.

AT: Yeah, though as much as these are all great classics from the past and big loves of mine (Hana-bi is in my top 3 of all time), being very honest, I don’t really enjoy it too much… They sell decently and I’m sure many people are happy about their releases, but at the same time there are so many great companies like Arrow, Eureka, etc. who handle more classic Japanese cinema to a much higher level than I, and were I to start focusing on that aspect of distribution, then who would be releasing new Japanese cinema, especially independent titles? Well, I guess nobody is, as there isn’t much of a market left due to massive video retail price decreases and VOD, but if it all disappears then I’ll feel that all I’ve done over the past 10 years would have been in vain…

JP: Shifting gears a bit, talk about your love of music. I see where you are constantly doing DJ'ing gigs. Where did it all start there, and what are some of your favorite artists?

AT:  Like movies, I’ve been into music since a very young age, and also into finding out about bands and artists who never made it big and trying to introduce them to people, which is what I guess I do with DJ-ing. I’ve been collecting records since I was a teenager and have about 5,000 or so, most of which are rare 60's and 70's soul 7 inches. 

DJ Adam

My favorite band are The Impressions and favorite album is The Young Mods Forgotten Story by The Impressions, but some of my favorite 7 inches which I own the originals of (and regularly put them into my DJ sets) are: Roy Roberts – So Much in Love (Sugar), Coco and Ben – Good Feeling (Earth World), Montclairs – Hey You, Don’t Fight It (Arch), Fortson and Scott – Sweet Lover (Pzazz) and Lil Major Williams – Girl, Don’t Leave Me (Palladium)

JP: You have done a bit of production work (Land of Hope and Fuku-chan of Fukufuku Flats), but recently you fully financed and independently produced your (Third Window Films) first feature film, Eiji Uchida's Lowlife Love. It was a success through a Kickstarter campaign and some lost beloved records of yours, but it's seemed to paid off. Tell us a bit about how that came to be, and the process. 

AT: Yeah, selling those records was super tough! I’m not lying when I say I shed many a tear, but can’t be helped I guess. Still have a lot of my favorite tunes so I try not to think about the ones I sold! Fuku-chan and Land of Hope were huge failures (financially, despite critical successes) and I had terrible experiences in the Japanese film committee system, so if anything I learnt a huge amount! With both Fuku-chan and Land of Hope I had worked on the idea of building up the directors name internationally, so producing a title would mean that there was already an outlet plus a financial back-up plan internationally if it failed to recoup domestically, so I took that same idea with Uchida Eiji by handling Greatful Dead and also becoming close to him as a person and professional in the process. (cont'd)...

Lowlife Love director Eiji Uchida with Adam Torel

AT (cont'd): I respect him a lot and he said that he wanted to make a new film and have me produce it, so we decided to keep it super independent and not having any film committee nonsense, but at the same time trying hard to keep the quality high. Luckily both him and I have loads of contacts in the industry so I raised the money with crowdfunding in both the UK and Japan, sold a bunch of records and called in favors from many actors and professionals to get it under way. It was a super tough shoot, but if you think about it, there’s nowhere else in the world where you can get such a talented and famous cast together with a high quality technical team (we shot with the new Red Dragon camera, which is only used in top films in Japan, not like in the West) and shoot a feature for such a small amount (our budget was under £30,000 and we paid everyone!).

JP: So, will we see more production work from TWF? 

AT: I plan to do a little more on the independent side here, probably with Uchida again, but want to take a break for a while and recoup both financially and mentally before doing too much more… I’d like to start a family at some point so want to focus on that over the next few years!

JP: Are there any possible upcoming titles you could mention, for the fans?

Ken and Kazu

AT: well, there are the 3 Kitanos out for the first few months of 2016, then Uzumasa Limelight at the end of April before Sion Sono’s Love and Peace in July. There’s also 2 more Kitanos: Kids Return and Scene at the Sea out later this year plus the Japanese indie title Ken and Kazu.

       

JP: You've talked in great length about the state of Japanese cinema, and how complicated and ridiculous it is about its self-containment. What do you see in the future of Japanese film, and do you think the doors will open more for getting films out to a more international audience? 

AT: Maybe the Olympics will help, plus if the 'Cool Japan' fund focuses a little more on film, but if anything it’ll just be the usual big budget titles which continue to be seen worldwide. When I say the Olympics, it’s mostly to do with if Japanese learn to, or practice speaking English better, as one of the big stumbling blocks for the promotion speakers in the independent scene and their of Japanese cinema overseas is the lack of English and lack of understanding about the international market. It’s not just cinema which is self-contained, but Japan is really more of an island and self-contained society than most people realize.

JP: What do you think about Japanese cinema appeals more to the U.K versus something like Korean cinema? I've heard Korean films tend to not perform as well for you guys.

AT: I think Korean cinema appeals much more to an international market as their focus is on technical quality, which is at a level miles above Japan. Also their marketing internationally, including better quality posters and trailers help them achieve much more. It’s just that I still think Japanese have better stories and more originality, while Korean cinema is too genre orientated with a lack of young and independent directors. If only they could mix the two, Japanese originality and storytelling with Korean technical quality…

JP: So what's next for you?

AT: Focusing this year fully on international and domestic promotion of Lowlife Love.

The whole gang of Lowlife Love

JP: If you had to pick 1 film and 1 album to spend the rest of your days with, what would they be?

AT: Young Mods Forgotten Story by The Impressions / Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

JP: And lastly, to end lightly, what is the single most heavily underrated, or unknown film, to you?

AT: Super tough! Something like The Man Who Stole The Sun? I guess it’s not really unknown considering it’s a major Toho film, but it should be much much more widely seen internationally considering the fact it’s got such a cast, story and cult status (director only ever made 1 other film) behind it. 

Thank you Adam!!!

Q&A With Director Pang Ho-cheung

The Intro:

As promised, and I apologize to you, the reader, for taking so long. Here is the interview / Q&A with Hong Kong director Pang-Ho Cheung, but 1st I just want to give a shout-out and thanks to Veronica Bassetto for making this interview happen to the effect it did, with multiple translators helping to translate from Cantonese to English on their side of things. We had no one to help on our end, so high praise to Pang and his team for all their hard work. 

Enjoy!

JP will refer to Josh Parmer, written in black, and red in bold for director Pang Ho-Cheung (PHC).

The Q & A:

JP: I think 2015 has been a great year for movies. What are some stand out titles for you, or just films you've been into recently?

PHC: The documentary, Batkid Begins, to me is the most outstanding film in 2015. It is a really touching film. Sometimes, I like the documentaries more than feature films, as it involves more true feelings. I think Batkid Begins is one of the best movies I’ve watched thus far.

Image from the documentary, Batkid Begins.

JP: Any local films that have stood out to you recently?

PHC: I prefer to differentiate the movies by their good or bad stories only. Whether it's a local production or not, to me, is not really important.

JP: So what made you want to be in the film industry? Where did it all start for you?

PHC: John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow Trilogy inspired me to join the industry. In the very beginning, I dreamed of becoming a movie star, but most of my attempts to be an actor had failed. So I shifted my goal and started off to be a television screenwriter, and eventually become a film director.

JP: I've recently revisited a lot of your films, and seen a few for the very 1st time, and one thing I noticed is how varied your catalog is. You do comedy, drama, violent thrillers, and you do them all well, with signature flair. You never seem to be bound by a genre and mix a lot of things up in all of them. What is the deciding factor in what type of projects you do?

PHC: I actually like including various genres in my film works, just as I preferred having a buffet than a specific cuisine when I was a kid. I concerned more with if the film is enjoyable than if it can suit a specific genre. We should always think out of the box and not be constrained by any genres.

Pang Ho-cheung sporting his favorite jacket!

JP: There has always been an edgier, darker side (usually in the humor) to your films. It helps set you apart from other directors working in Hong Kong today. You never seem to strive for doing what's popular. Do you have a particular desire to see other filmmakers (veterans and newcomers on the rise) to think outside of the box?

PHC: I think the Hong Kong industry is now under a transitional period. The quality of Hong Kong movie is not decreasing; only that Hong Kong directors have moved somewhere else to make their films. Although they are making movies outside Hong Kong, they are also bringing in various elements and style to the market, creating an impact to the local industry.

JP: Speaking as a fan of Hong Kong cinema, I think there has been a great decrease in the amount of quality films coming out, even in the more martial arts or thriller driven genres the country is known for. Where do you think the state of Hong Kong is right now, in terms of cinema?

PHC: In my opinion, Hong Kong’s movie is now under a transforming period. As I mentioned before, the quality of Hong Kong movie is not decreasing, but Hong Kong directors indeed make their films somewhere else. No matter where they produce/shoot their films, they still keep the Hong Kong essence in their films, and those movies still carry on the Hong Kong spirit.

JP: Though I am not able to read, due to the language barrier, I noticed when digging around on your site, that you have published a lot of your films in the form of paperback. Is this you converting your films to novel form at some point, or are your screenplays usually published for the public to read?

PHC: I am publishing my screenplay collection soon. As per I would like to show the original scripts and ideas to my audiences. This can also be a good reference for people whose career aspiration is to become a director. For example, everyone knows Columbus’ achievement, but if you got a chance to read his diary, Diario de Navegacion, then you will be able to further understand the reason behind his every decision.

Movie novels are usually a re-creation of the story from the film. I personally seldom re-write the movie novel by myself, instead they are usually written by my co-playwright or other writers. Unless it has an original novel, like one of my works Trivial Matters.

Collection of published Pang Ho-cheung screenplays.

JP: Aside from some of the more over-the-top delivery in some of your earlier works, for comedic effect, what made you want to bring a more naturalistic approach to the way your performers deliver dialogue? It's always so down to Earth, sometimes filled with vulgarity, but most importantly, it feels real. Now, I am sure I can't quite truly appreciate it, considering I know zero Cantonese, but when I watch a Pang Ho-cheung flick, I feel like I am just right there among the people. Was that a conscious decision early on, or is it just something that feels right?

PHC: When I design the dialogues, especially for comedy, I usually ask myself whether or not foreigners could also understand the humor too. The punch line can always be in verbal gags or local culture, thus can easily make Cantonese speakers laugh. Yet, despite from only depending on the punch line / gimmick, I also consider on how to enhance the comedic conflict, by actors’ gestures and other visual elements, as such for those who cant understand the language and could also enjoy the humor when they watch the film.

JP: You are an artist who likes to keep himself busy putting out content for the fans, and you do a lot of different things in the entertainment business. Acting is something you haven't really done a whole lot of. I read that you were co-starring alongside Derek Kwok in Chapman To's directorial debut, Miserable World. I haven't been able to find any real news on it,so I am assuming it hasn't begun shooting yet. How do you feel about taking on a new challenge as a leading actor?

PHC: It is indeed a pity that this project has been cancelled already due to investment issue, but there’s another film project in development, which I am planning to participate in as the main actor. I wanted to be an actor at the very beginning of my career, so I would say I still have the fantasy to act on screen.

JP: Going back to directing, which of your works are you most proud of and why?

PHC: I like Isabella the most. The leading actor and actress had excellent performances,  and you could see the excellent sparks between the two from their performances, and I put lots of effort to finish this movie. I seldom watch the movies I've directed, except this one.

Isabella (2006)

JP: What made you decide to pack up and open shop in Beijing? I think it was a smart move, and Love in the Buff proved to be a smash hit.

PHC: After the production of Love in the Buff, I wondered how I could further understand the mindset of Chinese youngsters if I want to continue to produce co-production movies. Obviously, it is easier for me to achieve if I live in Beijing.

JP: Speaking of the Love in a Trilogy (I don't know how to refer to it), you recently announced a 3rd film was being developed. Is there anything we can expect from it, or are the details still on the hush side of things?

PHC: Many are expecting this, but indeed I don’t have any plans so far.

JP: If you had to pick one specific genre of film you haven't gotten to dip your toes into and make something within it, which would it be?

PHC: As a fan of action movie, I’m pretty eager to make one in the future, especially since I have never tried the genre so far.

JP: What's been your favorite moment out of your entire career (on-set or off)?

PHC: I started off my career as a fiction writer, so I always like the process of writing. The most favorable moment to me are the times that I am developing on a new story, where I create everything beyond my imagination. Sadly, that imagination in the script usually got manipulated when the film production starts.

JP: Your most recent venture, Women Who Flirt, was your 1st time making a Mandarin speaking movie. What was that experience like, and were there any difficulties, if any, such as the possible language barrier?

PHC: To me, a story is a story, so a change of language does not create any obstacles to my way of telling the story.

Women Who Flirt (2014)

JP: Though I can't speak on a personal level about the movie, as I have yet to see it, tell us a little bit about your involvement in the recent film, Lazy Hazy Crazy. It isn't a Pang Ho-cheung film, per se, but it most certainly feels like something I could have seen you making.

PHC: Lazy Hazy Crazy is only a film that I produced and cannot be classified as A Pang Ho-cheung film. From the very beginning, I promised the Director, Luk Yee-sum, that I wouldn't interfere with the creative directions of this project when I took up the role as the producer. Director Luk and I have been working together for a long time. She was the screenwriter of many of my movies, including Love in the Buff, Vulgaria and Women Who Flirt, etc. I believe because of this, we share a lot of common ways of story telling.

JP: Finally, on a fun note (though not if you were really in the situation), if you were stranded on a remote island, and for some reason there was a nice HDTV with a magical non-realistically working media player attached, and the tv worked as well... what would be the absolute one film you just so happen to have on you, that you can watch on repeat for the rest of time, and be happy with, or at least until you get rescued?

PHC: I’ll bring Shawshank if I’m being trapped on an uninhabited island.

Actually I was talking to you, but it's over now Mr. Pang.

Thank you so much!

Written by Josh Parmer