Profile: Uchida Eiji
Born in 1971. Writer-director Uchida grew up in Brazil and made his debut as a screenwriter with the movie “Cutie Girl: Bishojo Boura Kiki-Ippatsu” (2003). He made his debut as a director with the movie “Gachapon” (2004). Uchida is known for his portrayals of youth in modern times and is without a doubt one of Japan’s most promising young directors.

★Warning: This interview includes information on scenes in the film. Persons who have not yet seen "Topless" may encounter spoilers.

--You yourself are a straight man. Why did you decide to create a movie in which a lesbian is the main character?

At first, I was actually thinking of depicting a story between junior high school and high school girls. There is an old movie called “Chiisana Koi no Monogatari” (Little Love Story), and I would have loved to create a pure story in which the girls would ask teachers and friends questions such as, “Why can’t girls like other girls?” However, when I talked about it with Ms. Watanabe, she brought me to understanding that, “Things don’t just exist on such a purely lovely level - they get a lot more complicated.” I was surprised.

-- What in particular surprised you?

From what Ms. Watanabe was saying, I got the feeling that the nature of things in Japan really affects lesbians in a negative way. Gay men, especially these days, have had greater exposure in the Japanese media and I get the sense that a lot of movies are created about them; however, I realized that in the case of lesbians, there are still so many girls and women who suffer alone. It just surprised me. I mean, why must everything be so hard just because they are lesbian?

--Do you have a different understanding of lesbians now that you’ve made this film?

Definitely. Of course, knowing something and not knowing something are two totally different things! For example, before I had no idea that there are women who go through with unwanted marriages. I was really shocked. The first time I heard that, I was wondering what era we were talking about! Pre-WWI?? Also, since I personally don’t understand the discomfort some people experience when they are around gays and lesbians, I think would like to interview people who feel that way. And, recently I've become interested in the act of coming out to one’s parents. Although there was a scripted scene in Topless in which Tomomi was supposed to come out to her mother, it was ultimately removed. Unfortunately, there are no family scenes included in the film at this time.

--Did you research anything about lesbians?

Yes, I met with and talked to many people. Then, I took actual incidents and stories that they shared with me and put them into the script; meanwhile, I also asked straight people what they thought of lesbians. More people than I expected were very disapproving. For example, I approached pedestrians in front of a train station and asked them what they thought. I would have never expected it but there were even people who told me that they hated lesbians. In Japan, you can often see girls holding hands on street and so I would have thought that generally those kinds of actions would be generally accepted. So it was surprising to me to learn that some people actually feel disgusted by lesbians.

Other than Ms. Watanabe, not really. I have many gay friends but not many lesbian ones. Viewed in this light, maybe lesbians are living in a more closed society than gay men.

--I am certain that you were cautious when working on certain points in this story between girls. At what points were you especially careful?

Even though it is a love story between girls, I was trying not to make it too special. Instead, I wanted the film to show that stories of love between a boy and a girl, a girl and a girl, or a boy and a boy are all the same. Loving and coming together are actually same for everybody.

Translated by Kaori Takyu