Torch Sing Q&A Session

This Q&A session started off with actress Tsugumi, who plays the role of Sakiko in the film, telling the audience shyly, "I hope that this film will be loved and nurtured by all of you." Call girl Miyako faces the world with a sense of discomfort like having small eel bones stuck in the back of the throat, while Sakiko tries only to protect her self, hurt in girlhood. In Torch Song, waves of emotion threaten to turn the women's quiet life together upside down, then leave behind memories of happiness and limpid sadness as they wash away again. Asked about her character's personality, Tsugumi answered, "Everyone has a dirty, sullied side to them. Some people forget it and try to make something new, while others see only how dirty they are. I played Sakiko like the latter kind of person." If Miyako is oblivious to malicious intentions and always seeks innocence and purity, Sakiko thinks that she is impure, but tries nonetheless to protect herself," continued director Yukisada. Death lurks in the shadows of this softly-lit film, and Yukisada addressed this too, saying "It's as if all the people around me who have died appear again in the film." Apparently, the director's memories, which he described as "Always disappearing, even though I brood over them and am finally able to convey them," are also reflected in the film. And one young woman in the audience expressed the unresolved emotions the film had awakened in her with the comment "I empathized with both women. It was painful, and it was exciting." Takashi Goto Director's Profile: Yukisada Isao Born in Kumamoto, Japan in 1968. Formerly the assistant director for such television greats as Kamoshita Shinichi and Oyama Katsumi. Freelance credits include films by Hayashi Kaizo and Iwai Shunji and Hal Hartley's Flirt. Followed debut film Open House with the domestically and internationally acclaimed Himawari (1999), which marked his first theatrical release, and won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 5th Annual Pusan International Film Festival. Torch Song is his fourth film, after Enclosed Plan (2000).