Suzume interview Q&A discussion with Writer & Director Makoto Shinkai, part of the 2023-2024 Variety Artisans Screening Series. Writer & Director Makoto Shinkai interview and discussion is live from the Historical Harmony Gold Preview House Theater. Harmony Gold Theater is located at the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood on the famous Sunset strip.
ABOUT Suzume: Suzume stars Nanoka Hara as Suzume Iwato, Hokuto Matsumura as Souta Munakata, and Eri Fukatsu as Tamaki Iwato.
Suzume is a coming-of-age story for the 17-year-old protagonist, Suzume, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan, where she must close the doors causing devastation.
Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob… Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster.
About Writer/Director Makoto Shinkai: Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer.
Shinkai studied Japanese literature at Chuo University where he was a member of juvenile literature club where he drew picture books. In 1999, Shinkai released She and Her Cat, a five-minute short piece done in monochrome.
Makoto Shinkai's best knows films are The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), The Garden of Words (2013), and Your Name (2016).
His favorite anime is Castle in the Sky (1986) by Hayao Miyazaki