Erika Konno won the Fabulous Four Commendation Certificate for her short film, ‘Brushing Up’ at ADFEST 2016.
 

Her film is about a girl who wakes up in a scruffy monster suit. She tries to get rid of it but eventually has to face the world. People dislike her – until she finds other hairy people. They work out how to turn their impediment into a positive.
 

It’s a really cute film – you can watch it here
 

One year later, we decided to ask Erika how it feels to win the Fabulous Four Commendation.
 

You attended ADFEST in 2016 as a Fabulous Four director. What was it like to showcase your film to a live audience?
 
I was really pleased to see the juries and the audiences being full of praise for my own style of film craft such as the flow of the script, the camera works, the color grading, the directions with various techniques including time-lapse and POV shot, and also the expression of main girls’ pretty full-body suites. 
 

Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for your film?
 
One morning I looked at myself with long hair in a mirror and thought: what if I could make this into a story? That’s how it started. 
 
Then, I took it to extremes and came up with “hairy human characters”. 
 
With the theme “Creative Intelligence”, my planning approach was turning negative thoughts into positive ones so you can somehow live on by coming up with positive concept.  So I thought about how the hairy women can make a good use of their beasty hair and came up with a car-wash dance.  I also tried to convey the story with clarity through more visuals instead of dialogues. 
 

Your film won the Fabulous Four ‘Commendation’ award. Do you think winning this award has helped your career?
 
Yes, it has been a big help for my career. The short film itself was really an accumulation of my passions for movies. I think I have been able to direct other projects with my own style since I was given this award. 
 
The title of the Fabulous Four Commendation has put such good pressures on me when directing other works.  Also winning the Commendation has led me to meeting new people.  I am really grateful for this and I would like to keep trying my best at each work.
 

You only had a few weeks to direct your film. Was it difficult making a film in such a short time?!
 
Yes, it was very challenging, but it has improved my skills as a director.
 
Though there was such short time to work with, I read the script and storyboard over and over and worked on it till the last minute so as to bring the quality of the film higher. 
 
During filming we had many shots to cover, so it was matter of time and physical strength. It surely was tough experience, but I learnt about how to bring the quality of film higher with such limited time.  This is really helping me a lot today for other projects.
 

What do you enjoy about directing commercials and short films?

It is all about the live-feeling. Crews, casts and any other conditions on set can affect the production and it is interesting to me.
 
Then, we get to put together what we shoot in post and make one story. No matter how many times I experience this, I get moved by this process. This is such a great process.
 

What are you working on at the moment?

I mainly work on commercials and web movies.  I like to work on more and more projects and get more experienced.  My goal is that I constantly work on projects and all my films show my own styles and tastes
 

What is your dream job or project?

Company commercials and branded content are definitely my interests.  Along with that line, one of my dreams is to direct brand films for not only Japanese, but also globally known luxury brands.  I also like creating stories out of new visuals and music, so I am also interested in making music videos with beautiful visuals and new visual gimmicks. 
 

What is your favourite film? Why?

It is “Brazil”.

I like how the story is so well planned and how I can see  the director’s devotion to details within the frame.
 

If you could meet one person in the whole world, who would it be?

If I can still choose, it would be Michael Jackson! If he were still alive. I have adored his music and music videos since my childhood. He is one of the roots for my creatively.
 

Can you tell me about the film industry in Japan? Is it hard for new directors to find work?
 
I feel that the director’s job is to face others.  From my experience, it is important in order to make a film great how directors can enjoy communicating with clients, agencies and all crewmembers about details and complete projects.
 
So I feel there is a chance for anyone even without much career experience if he or she understands this notion well.
 


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