Japan's indie film sector, never terribly robust financially, is now fighting for its life. Technically, of course, it has never been easier to make indie films. The problem is the lack of theaters willing to screen them and fans willing to see them. Even one-time indie stalwarts such as Sion Sono, Ryuichi Hiroki and Hirokazu Kore-eda are making more commercial films, while keeping just one foot in the indie camp.
But not Masashi Yamamoto, who after a career of nearly three decades, remains resolutely indie. On the website for his new omnibus "Three Points" he has even posted an "extreme indies declaration," in which he reminds us that in addition to the path of commercialism, "there is another way to make films."
"The answer lies in your beginnings," he explains — the time when "you had no money, nothing but enthusiasm." (He neglects to mention a need for plenty of friends willing to work for free.)