By YUKA ORII/ Staff Writer
September 10, 2020 at 07:00 JST
KAMAKURA, Kanagawa Prefecture--Once a prominent film town, local officials want the ancient capital back in the spotlight as a setting for TV dramas and films.
They have started a film commission called the Kamakura Location Service (KLS) to bring production crews to Kamakura and help promote the city's charms through culture and tourism.
The founding ceremony was held on July 16 at the city-owned Kamakura Museum of Literature, which was joined by actor Kiichi Nakai, who serves as tourism ambassador for the city.
"I have appeared in many TV shows set in Kamakura, so it feels surprising that there had been no film commission here," Nakai said during the ceremony. "The biggest problem for actors is that we can't go to on-location filming sites amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"We'd feel apologetic for being a nuisance when it comes to shooting in a local area, so we feel nothing but grateful for those who serve as an intermediary."
Shizuo Yamanouchi, 95, a former producer at Shochiku Co.'s Ofuna Studio who handled renowned director Yasujiro Ozu's works, was appointed as honorary adviser for the entity.
"A motion picture camera is not directed at famous people or places," said Yamanouchi, who attended the ceremony in a wheelchair. "But while Kamakura is dotted with many famous spots, it has many beautiful places in its interspaces and narrow alleyways. I still want to shoot a movie in the quiet alleys around the former residence of (writer Jiro) Osaragi."
The 16th film commission founded in the prefecture, the KLS will be based at the city's tourist association, which concluded an agreement with the city government.
For the time being, its main operations will include attracting productions to the museum of literature and the former imperial residence of Kacho no Miya, as well as to privately owned old houses and other sites, and assisting crews.
City officials expect that they can allocate shooting fees to partially cover the maintenance costs for the old buildings while they promote afresh the culture of Kamakura.
The KLS will outsource operations such as accepting filming applications, requesting and negotiating with building owners, location scouting and observing filming activities to Kamakura Cine-Lab, a private entity founded in May.
Members of Kamakura Cine-Lab said they intend to use their connections to filmmakers to host lectures for film students in the Tokyo metropolitan area and other events and also encourage them to participate in repairs of old buildings available for on-location shooting.
The capital of Japan during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), Kamakura is home to many buildings and old houses filled with a retro ambience.
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The founding ceremony of the Kamakura Location Service was held at the "photogenic" Kamakura Museum of Literature in the Hase district of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 16. (Yuka Orii)
