‘X-Men’ director finds Tokyo fest ‘exciting’

TOKYO—For American filmmaker Bryan Singer, jury head of this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), the biggest challenge in picking the best picture winner is not the fact that film entries come from different countries but that they are of different genres.

The director of the Academy Award-winning film “The Usual Suspects” explained: “Imagine comparing comedy to a horror or a dramatic film and then having to choose the best among them.”

Aside from Singer, the jury is composed of France-based Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung; Norwegian director, writer and producer Brent Hamer; Chinese film producer Nansun Shi; Danish director Susanne Bier, and Japanese writer-director Kazuki Omori.

At the media gathering here on Friday attended by journalists from different parts of the world, Singer was asked whether it was possible for a film that tackles a political or social issue to earn the nod of festival jurors.

Sixteen films, some from France, Turkey, Hungary, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and China, among others, make up the Competition category of the 28th TIFF.

“I remember when I was a jury member at a festival in Turin; I pushed for a Chinese film that tells of the rise of totalitarianism. Yes, a film that is politically and thematically relevant is important, but it also has to be well-made,” Singer told reporters here at the Toho Cinemas, a posh multiplex located in Roppongi Hills.

BRYAN Singer watched “Godzilla” as a film student.
Roland Samson

Singer likened picking the best film to “choosing a mate. You have to like the entire package.”

He added that a “good film festival” was one that was not “afraid to take on a variety of films. Another jury member and I were talking about how we both found one particular festival to be pretentious and boring. We will not name it anymore. So far, this festival (we are attending) is proving to be exciting.”

Singer first gained widespread attention in 1995 with the crime drama “The Usual Suspects,” which won two Academy Awards for its writer Christopher McQuarrie (best original screenplay) and cast member Kevin Spacey (best supporting actor).

Singer is currently in post-production of “X-Men: Apocalypse,” the follow-up film to his box-office hit “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” His other film credits include “X-Men,” “X2: X-Men United,” “Superman Returns,” “Valkyrie,” and his feature film debut, “Public Access,” which received the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 1993.

As in most of the jury members, Singer claimed his work as a filmmaker was partly influenced by the late Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. “I saw every single Kurosawa movie as a film student at the USC (University of Southern California),” he said. “I remember watching (Steven) Spielberg and (George) Lucas films juxtaposed with that of their idol, Kurosawa. I became exposed to Japanese cinema at a young age.”

Ishiro Honda’s “Godzilla,” released in 1954, also had a huge impact on the young Singer, he said. “‘The movie introduced a lot of

us filmmakers to Japanese cinema. I watched it religiously.”

The TIFF, which opened with Robert Zemeckis’ “The Walk” on Oct. 22, ends on Oct. 31.