Tanaka Senji was born in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1987. Dropping out of Nihon University College of Art, Tanaka went to California and spent two years at a community college there with the aim of becoming a scriptwriter. After returning to Japan he began writing scripts for stage plays and making short films. His day job was video production for an IT company. About three years ago an actor friend, Minagawa Yoji, approached Tanaka about making a film together, with Minagawa serving as producer. Another actor friend, Isozaki Yoshitomo, joined with Minagawa and Tanaka to form the production unit One Goose. The film that emerged from this collaboration, Tanaka’s first feature Melancholic, had its world premiere at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival in the Japanese Cinema Splash section. Tanaka was awarded the section’s Best Director prize.
‒ Why did you go to the United States to learn filmmaking?
I was in university in Japan for two years studying to be a playwright, and one day I thought I wanted to learn how to write screenplays. There was no particular reason why I decided to go to America, it was just an idea, and I thought it was the right move at the time. Community college was a choice I could reasonably afford. I wanted to learn screenwriting but I needed to take all the classes to get a film degree, so I learned about shooting, acting and directing as well as writing.What I learned and experienced in college changed how I see films. Before I went, I had not seen movies in terms of construction. I admit that my approach to film making is now more American.
‒ After coming back to Japan,you thought of yourself as a “failed scriptwriter.” Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Right after coming back to Japan, I got a job writing for a big-budget stage play and thought my career was going to be fine. But after a year or two, I found myself not to be successful at anything. I decided to shoot three short films in one year and I did, but I didn’t show them to anyone because I lacked confidence as a director. I believed that I was at least talented at writing scripts, though, so I didn’t think about giving up. I’ve been working at non-filmrelated jobs, but I’ve never stopped writing.
‒ You said that the film’s lead actor and producer, Minagawa Yoji, asked you to write the script for Melancholic. How did you end up directing it?
Yoji asked me to write and direct a feature film in November or December of 2017. I immediately said yes because it seemed like a great opportunity and sounded fun. He said that, as the producer, he’d take care of the money. Almost all the actors were people we had already worked with in theater productions. We shot Melancholic in 10 days, over weekends in January and February of 2018. Yoji asked me to finish editing by the summer so that we could submit it to the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). I finished the morning of the deadline day for submission. I couldn’t believe it when we were chosen for the festival.
‒ Now you’ve won the best director prize in TIFF’s Japanese Cinema Splash section, do you see yourself now more as a director than a scriptwriter?
I still see myself as a screenwriter rather than a director. There are too many great directors out there and I’m not sure I can survive as a director. But I believe I have a slight chance of surviving as a screenwriter.
‒ You mentioned Mitani Koki and Woody Allen as influences – but were there other directors who had a more direct impact on Melancholic?
The atmosphere and the way the story is told is influenced by Woody Allen, especially the main character, Kazuhiko. There have been no “bathhouse murders,” at least in my lifetime, but Kazuhiko’s emotional conflicts are inspired by my own experience. The high school I went to has a strong academic reputation, and some of the classmates I met at a reunion party had become successful, while I had nothing to talk about. That’s why I added a reunion party scene to Melancholic.
‒ Any new projects underway?
We’re preparing for the release of Melancholic this summer. Also, we’re thinking about our next feature film project, which is going to start shooting this year or next year. We haven’t determined what the story is yet.
Mark Schilling