Filmmaker Mayu Nakamura is a rarity in Japan’s film industry — completely self-made and fiercely independent. In 2006, she made her debut with “The Summer of Stickleback” starring Kengo Kora. She has a number of acclaimed documentaries under her belt, including “Alone in Fukushima” and “Watch Out For the Patriot! — Kunio Suzuki,” about the titular activist and politician. Her latest work is “Intimate Stranger,” a story about grief and isolation in pandemic-stricken Tokyo.
1. What did you learn from going to boarding school in London at 16? I learned early that when you change locations, you can change your identity.
2. Did you feel a need to change your identity? During elementary school, I lived in Kyoto and suffered intense bullying. Kyoto is heavily conservative and does not take kindly to outsiders. I was staying with my grandparents, but since I was from Tokyo I couldn’t speak the dialect. Therefore I was a stranger, which made me a target.