26/04/2009 by McAllister.

Wow just been at a wonderfully strange festival in oxford called Oxdox which is run by a wonderful woman called Marie Wright who is as passionate as crazy like me I feel. Maybe we share the same chaotic madness.

Her new venue for the festival was as much an adventure as the amazing films Oxdox shows. A tiny 100 seater indie place where the projectionist is hidden upstairs above the ticket office. The only way up is by some iron ladders on the exterior of the building.

Inside, the projectionist tells me he is also the owner. His wife is helping repair some of the interior seats. They run the place together making next to nothing. A worthy subject of a film itself I feel. I am speechless. This man is amazing.

Outside the queues forms. Clearly more then can be catered for inside. Marie does exactly what I would do in such a situation sending off her volunteers to find chairs in nearby bars and cafes. But here out on the street in front of her queuing audience she he is grappling for cash to pay my travel. Thrusting hundred or so pounds in my hands thinking out load about the Eskimo she has brought over who is the subject of the next film.  She must appear quite mad to many but to me she is quite sobering and sane…

But there is a problem. So successful a screening is the Eskimos film that there is no seat for him inside.

I leave Marie with her problem but I feel happy for her and for Oxdox; a truly unique festival in the hands of a unique person who I think should be celebrated in her own film like the projectionist and owner of this wonderful independent theatre where the festival takes place.

To top it all as I leave I get a call from Nizam a friend from Norway who tells me my Japan film has won the top international documentary prize in Norway. Damn I wish I was there. Of all the films I’ve made this is the one I need to win an award and I wish I was there to accept it.

Oxdox - http://www.oxdox.com/2009festival/

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14/04/2009 by McAllister.

Wasn’t it Philip Larkin the famous poet who lived round the corner from me here in Hull that wrote - ‘hull, hell and halifax’, when writing about the city he loved to hate but never hated enough to leave?  Little like me it feels although today i write, ‘Dubai or Hull.  What a choice, between Larkin’s hell and hell.

What’s the difference between Hull or Dubai? well i know Hull, i love the chips here and the beer. Dubai? I love the Indian food, warm weather (although that becomes hell in summer) and mid-eastern food. The downside is that Dubai is like a large shopping centre in the desert with a mix of hopeless people looking to make ends meet. Hull isn’t so dissimilar these days.

But whats the story… the great British recession… Dubai crashing?

I feel an allegiance to  my city but can’t face the idea of filming here right now, maybe if i found a character quickly… but i always say that and it rarely happens. Besides which, as Dubai crashes it feels symbolic of capitalism as we know it today, and it is that that attracts me to the story. And then there is  the glimmer of hope provided by a charity out there that is helping abandoned Indian construction workers whose employers have gone bust and left them. On $4 a day they find it difficult to buy  a ticket home.

Although filming isn’t going to be easy and it may end up with me being kicked out. “Shrewdly” i hope to follow an Indian construction worker or workers home to India  as a way of filming freely, although my ultimate aim for the best film there is with a local, one of the few 18% (80% of people living in Dubai are ‘immigrants’) - I would love to find someone who can provide a sane voice to what is going on  in Dubai. Quite simple really, now all i have to do is find such a person.

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08/04/2009 by McAllister.

PLAY DOC, TUI. a small documentary film fest in Spain, the “local produce” led me astray for a while… but this was the best fest of the year so far for me. sweet and friendly small enough to still care passionately about films their makers and the audience. it reminded me of what sundance film fest must have once been like. can’t wait to go back!! check the theatre, full at 10.30pm screening before a night of madness. my kind of festival.

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30/03/2009 by admin.

‘Japan: A Story of Love and Hate’ will receive it’s UK broadcast premier tonight on BBC Four at 9pm, it will be repeated at 11:40pm. McAllisters film brings to a close the BBC series ‘Hidden Japan’.

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30/03/2009 by McAllister.

hi Sean san

i’m sorry i could not see the previews that you say.

coud you send me?

and i red the mail to you from first object who lived in tokyo which mail you sent me as last e-mail.

i think my “openness”…i have nothing openness even now.

i had been openned my mind and expressed my mind just for you.

i believed you.

and now i do believe you,of course.

if people say that they feel my openness..it is not my openness.

it was result of your struggle to open my shadow and shadow of rich japan for 2 years.its great!

now i am very proud of you and your film “Japan:A story of Love and Hate”.

its our new family treasure.

and must be our heirloom.

i miss you and your family and Sheffield people and Londom people!

see you soon on BBC4 tonight!

Naoki

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27/03/2009 by McAllister.

Sean will show his 1998 iraq film THE MINDERS at THE FRONLINE CLUB in Paddington London 7pm friday eve,  17th april 2009. Afterwards there will be a discussion/talk about Sean’s work. The Chair for the evening will be announced closer to the date..

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20/03/2009 by McAllister.

I was at the wonderful one world festival in Prague last weekend. It’s great to see how big it has grown since my film ‘Settlers’ opened it in 2000.

Sadly on my arrival I got an email from Samir (the Liberace of Baghdad) from my last film. He is now living in USA but wrote to say he has prostate cancer and is going for 42 days radiation treatment.

That evening I sat by the grand piano in the foyer of the beautiful 1930s cinema and missed him dearly.

The Japan film was packed and was voted 4th fav film by the audience the next day. Not bad out of 300 films.

Today I arrived in Porto, Portugal, heading to small village festival just over the border in Spain. A place called Tui. But no-one has come to meet me. So I’m on a bus trying to make my own way there.

It gave me horror memories of my last time showing a film here in Portugal in 1996, I was with with Kev from ‘Working For the Enemy’ no one showed up to meet us and no one came to see the film

Well at least this festival is over the border in Spain. Let’s hope there is an audience at 22:30 for the film tonight. If I make it.

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11/03/2009 by McAllister.

I am told that the JAPAN season which ‘Japan: A Story of Love and Hate’ is part of, is now being trailered on TV, my film will be the final film on Monday 30^th March, 9pm BBC4. To be repeated on BBC2.

I’ve been away researching recently, this time in Dubai, and Damascus, I am also awaiting a response from the BBC about my ‘next’ project – and have also put in new idea about Hull, having been asked to so by BBC4 who are planning a season of films called ‘The North’.

Had 2 great screenings in Helsinki; One World Festival, very great fest, great people, great country one of my favs. I talked about going back and doing a workshop.

Enjoyed hot sauna’s and jumping into icy lake, sadly Nick Broomfield who I was naked with failed to jump in; I later caught him lying about his bravery in the shower. And gave him a lesson in documentary truth.

He was having a retrospective there, it was great to spend time with him and Barney his son, also the great master Ricky Leacock was the special guest with the funny and quite crazy Valarie who I went shopping with and bought a few vodka’s with.

Tempo festival Sweden, http://www.tempofestival.se/english/  film plays soon. I have no invite.

Friday 7.30 One World Festival Prague, Japan… plays Friday night, I always look forward to this one, I remember Settlers opening the festival there one year and playing to a great vibrant audience.

Will also take part in a documentary discussion on Sat 4pm with another film maker Joe Berliner about ‘truth’ in film making.

Following Friday night at 10.30 film plays in gorgeous little fest in Valencia Spain, film fest called Play Doc fest. http://www.play-doc.com/English/ seems very select, only 6 films in competition, and very politically aware, careful to choose films that matter.

Did 2 master classes’ couple of weeks back at Cardiff University.

Will do a talk soon at Salford university media school.

Beldocs is 8 - 12th April

Oxdox - Oxford doc fest, film showing Friday eve 7.30 24th April. Getting all prime time spots.

Showing a favourite film and mini retrospective at the frontline club, Friday 17th April, 7pm, hosted by Nick Fraser, BBC Storyville Editor… (I’m thinking of showing Settlers, a much unseen film of mine)

21 - 26th Norwegian documentary film festival, screening to be confirmed.

One day open-to-all master class and film in MAY, dates to be confirmed, at the London Film School in Covent Garden London.

2 screenings of Liberace of Baghdad in May (dates to be confirmed) in a series of the best of British doc at the Cinematheque / Danish Film Institute.

Docaviv in tel Aviv is 7 - 14th may, Japan is in competition, another great fest in great place. I love Israel despite its problems, great friends either side of the wall.

7th edition of Escenarios / Sights 2009 International Documentary Conference in Mexico City has selected Japan: a story of love and hate, 3rd - 11th July, invited to do a master class and maybe also show settlers.

http://www.flahertiana.ru/eng/2009/ International documentary film festival at Flahertiana Perm city in Russia. Invited to show Japan in competition. 16-22.october 2009

Ok, think that’s it for now.

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15/11/2008 by McAllister.

Sheffield was great. 2 sold out screenings. Had famous doc film maker D.A. Pennebaker who made 1960s bob Dylan doc ‘Don’t Look Now’ at one screening. He said “you took a loser and made him a winner”. Naoki was humble in Q & A.  The audience loved him. One of them suggested he write a book, another said he should have his own show on NHK.

He was the link that allowed them to see inside Japan.

Many said they’d never seen anything like this before. Especially the poverty aspect. They thought all japanese were rich, they were curious to know how Japanese people at home would receive this film.Naoki had drinks bought for him all weekend.

We got back to London and he said he missed being famous, which was funny.

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12/11/2008 by admin.

Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF)

Favourite moments?
I loved Sheffield which I visited last weekend for the first time with Sean and the film he made about me called JAPAN A STORY OF LOVE AND HATE. I found the people very friendly. Sheffield reminded me of my town called Yamagata where the film is set. But Yamagata is a little smaller.

best memory?
I met 2 Japanese people at the festival, they came from Tokyo. there was a documentary film maker and another man from Yamagata festival. It was funny he never knew of my film, set in yamagata. It says a lot about the Japanese, they don’t know what is going on. it was funny the yamagata festival man said we should have the premiere of the film. I said but ‘you didn’t even know of the film!!’ and the festival (held every 2 years is only happening next year) then on the train from Sheffield I met a young Spanish girl who recognised me. She loved the film, she had a newspaper which had sean and my picture on the front cover, she said ‘it is you!’, I was surprised.

Best comment?
The best comment I got from the audience was a strange question asking me what sign of the zodiac I was. I couldn’t understand the question. I said I was born 1951…. Something
Sean just told me to say my birthday. It was a good suggestion. I hope people can survive the recession coming here using the zodiac. England still has days of plenty but for how long I wonder?

Are you happy with the results of the film?
I just showed our true life. I open our life in front of sean’s camera. Sean is not propaganda of poverty, he just filmed our life. he didn’t didn’t take refuge in our poverty world, he just filmed our life.

People need the truth not logic. People need actuality. Sean’s film and our life have made this harmony as a good result.

NAOKI TALKS ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE FILM.

What was your first impression of Sean?
The first day I was waiting for sean at train station with yoshie but he did not get off train. He had got off at the wrong station. I thought he was a dope, like me.

What did you expect the film to be?
UN should make recommendation for his film for his peace keeping powers!! he brought to my relationship with yoshie and gave me the strength to go see her father, this has helped my relationship now, we are far happier. Before sean came and began filming I had refused to see her father because we are the same age and it is a ‘shame’ problem in japan. I realised this was a problem for yoshie through sean’s film and I decided to meet her father, now we are best friend s and I go most weekends.

What was your worst memory?
After sean met me, he changed his mind and left back to Tokyo looking for another film, he was still searching in his mind and needed to look more he told me later. For me it was very difficult because I realised he began filming with someone else but after that failed almost one year later we reunited and he came back to film me. It was then we made the film.

Anything you dislike about the film?
The film sometimes makes me into a ‘star’, this was never an intention to be ‘movie star’. This is bad, it is about showing the life for many people in japan and telling a story not many people know about. I was shocked to be treated like a star at the Sheffield festival, so many people wanting to talk with me and shake my hands. Why?

What about yoshie?
Yoshie could not know the meaning of ‘premiere’ at Sheffield doc fest. She had to work, her boss could not give her days off work. she could never see or feel the spotlight like me sadly because she could not get holidays off work.

Does she like the film?
She likes the film and being filmed.

Is the film good for yoshie?
Maybe. But she is afraid of being fired from the daytime job office when the film is on tv in japan.

Is the film good for naoki?
I am happy now, it is good. If post office fire me I must go to court and show film. We can make a sequel. Sean has to film this.

What next for naoki and yoshie?
No change unless I get fired!!

Did the film change your relationship for better or worse?
Absolutely better. I gained a big ‘extended’ family!!!

Tell me how you have changed or how yoshie has changed?
Look at sean’s film. At first we did mind being filmed.. but after a year we got used to it, we lived out our lives naturally in front of sean’s camera. we made no pretence to be good or bad
If we tried pretending we would tire ourselves, it would be impossible.. sean’s persistence won!!
Like a natto bean he eats in the film, he is ‘sticky’..

Why did you choose to be in the film?
Before I sent a lot of mail to sean, emails about my life, my wives, my politics. I would takes hours writing them on my hand phone because we have no computer or internet in our rabbit house. After 3 or 4months sean told me enough of politics I want to know your individual opinion and personal life. so I confess every everything about being divorced 3 times and I have girlfriend who half age of mine.

It was when sean said he didn’t just want my political past but wanted my individual opinions and personal situation that I decided to be in the film. It would be a way of showing the world the ‘truth’ of the life I was living, I guessed many people did not know.

I was also very moved that sean decided to come to japan after reading my mails so we made the film successfully..

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