The Screen International Magazine will be at the Berlin Film Festival, which kicks off today with the screening of Francois Ozon’s “Peter Von Kant.” An interview with Oscar nominee Ryusuke Hamaguchi reveals that he is currently working on a documentary and some music videos. No word though on “Our Apprenticeship,” his next feature-length narrative.
If you remember, I wrote details about “Our Apprenticeship,” which is set in France and will be his first non-Japanese/Korean production:
“Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s forthcoming Paris-based OUR APPRENTICESHIP sounds major — it’ll feature a young cast composed of a gay French couple, a Syrian, a Belgian, a South Korean and Japanese woman at the center. Features many queer characters as they each learn each other’s languages.”
Hamaguchi began collecting funding on the film in 2019. After an incredible 2021, pandemic plans halted a Paris-set shoot. Hopefully it begins filming sometime this year.
The Japanese director has really come into his own this year. His first films, the critically-acclaimed 5-hour “Happy Hour” (didn’t see it) and the underrated “Asako 1 & 2” set the stage for the banner year that he’s just had. Also his “other” 2021 film, the entertaining triptych “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” is well worth a look.
This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.