Kenji Kokubu an extremely independent filmmaker

Bio: Kenji Kokubu an independent filmmaker in Japan. I made an experimental Sci-Fi short film "Shapes with No Name", and it was selected at Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival. He handles everything himself - directing, writing, acting, editing, and sounds. He would loved to connect with filmmakers and share works each other.

Q: Who are you as a filmmaker? Can you tell us about your journey becoming an independent experimental filmmaker in Japan and what drives you to handle every aspect of your films yourself—from directing and writing to acting, editing, and sound?

→A: I am a self-taught filmmaker. I don’t come from a film school or a traditional film industry background. I began writing screenplays when I was 18. At that time, I believed that story structure was the most important element in cinema. However, over time, many different thoughts and ideas began to overflow within me. They were not only stories, but also visual images, and appeared in my mind and didn’t disappear. I realized that screenwriting alone was no longer enough for me, so I began making short films. I approached filmmaking from the perspective of how I could turn my thoughts and ideas into images. Moreover, I had no connections and budget. As a result, I naturally ended up working alone.

Q: What is your signature film? What inspired you to create your experimental Sci-Fi short “Shapes with No Name,” and what makes this film unique compared to other sci-fi shorts?

→A: My signature film is absolutely “Shapes with No Name”. Before making this film, I had already made a few short films which also have experimental elements, but at that time, I didn’t have a developed philosophy or technique for filmmaking. Of course, I still can’t say that they are fully developed even now, but I feel I have found a clearer direction. 

At the beginning of writing the screenplay, I planned to make a narrative, comedy story in which a man travel back in time to meet his ancestors. But I remembered my old opinion. The opinion is that films should be freer. From there, I began to think about how I could reflect things I think about every day in the film. Eventually, I referenced German Expressionism and reflected the theme and the protagonist’s inner state in the image. Those experimental elements make this film unique.

Q: How do you work alone? What challenges and rewards come with being a one-person filmmaking team, and how has this approach shaped the style and vision of your work?

→A: It is very hard to work alone. I have to gather many kinds of knowledge and manage to combine them as parts of films. It takes a lot of time. I sometimes want someone’s help. However, it has also advantages. I often approach filmmaking with a stubborn philosophy. In terms of creating most parts of the film exactly as I intend them, I feel that my current way of working is highly effective, and even essential.

Q: Which film festivals have selected your work? You mentioned “Shapes with No Name” was selected at the Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival and another independent festival—can you share how those selections impacted your career?

→A: The selection at the Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival was one of my biggest results in my career. “Shapes with No Name” has also been selected by smaller independent festivals, and I am grateful for those opportunities. However, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival was especially meaningful because it was almost first to connect with other filmmakers at the festival events. I will not change my plan for filmmaking, but connecting with other filmmakers changed my attitude toward filmmaking.

Q: What other films have you created? Beyond “Shapes with No Name,” what other experimental short films have you made, and what themes or genres do you explore in them?

→A: I’ve created two short films. Both are kinds of Film of the Absurd. In those films, I didn’t have specific themes or intense, so “Shapes with No Name” is the beginning of the new series which have determined theme. 

Q: Why independent film festivals? What do you value most about independent film festivals like Toronto Lift-Off, and how do they differ from larger mainstream festivals for filmmakers like yourself?

→A: Mainstream cinema can involve much larger budgets, but because the frameworks for planning and production are often already well established, there are inevitably more restrictions and obligations. Independent films tend to struggle more financially, but through that process of finding creative solutions, filmmakers often arrive at unexpected ideas, and their personal thoughts can be reflected in the work in a purer form.

I think one of the greatest strengths of independent film festivals is that they create a place where these freer ideas can be exchanged.

an extremely independent filmmaker
Q: What connects your films? Looking at your body of work, what central themes, styles, or questions tie your experimental films together?

→A: The central theme connecting my short films is how inner states, psychological situation, and thought can be transformed into cinematic form. Film is often an objective medium. It observes characters and the world as objects. I think it is a theme worth challenging: how far can we focus on the subject within such an objective medium? There are many possible approaches to this. In *Shapes with No Name*, I attempted to directly reflect the character’s inner state in the image. In my next work, I will probably approach it in a different way. I would like to make four films around this theme.

Q: How do you want to connect with other filmmakers? You’ve mentioned wanting to connect with filmmakers and share works—what kind of collaborations or community do you hope to build, and how can fellow filmmakers reach you?

→A: Of course, I would be open to future collaborations, but ideally, I would like to build relationships where filmmakers can recognize the strengths of each other’s work and help share them more widely. I think it would contribute to flourishing of the independent film industry.

I would be happy if people reached out to me through Instagram below.

https://www.instagram.com/kokubu_kenji/

https://www.solitudefilmproduction.com/

Interviews with Clinton R Siegle https://endertalon.blogspot.com/2024/12/interviews-with-clinton-r.html