Think pink for Japan's alternative films

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Imaizumi Koichi's Naughty Boys, shown as part of the ongoing Q Film Festival, is a peek into the lives of a gay couple in the middle of a row.

Amid the domestic fireworks there pops up a sequence with characters inspired by anime (Japanese animation), including a guardian angel disguised as an old lady in a wheelchair, spouting incoherent babble and moving robotically, and a Rupaul-like villain.

Shot on digital video on a shoestring budget, it's quirky yet funny and cute. Despite the inevitable shortcomings of a sophomore effort (Naughty is Koichi's second feature), it's a realistic slice of life, played out against the backdrop of Shinjuku Ni-Chome, Japan's biggest gay neighborhood.

And offbeat and unconventional are entirely in keeping with its status as part of Japan's Pinku Eiga (pink film) genre.

Its beginnings can be traced back to around 1963, in the form of artsy, softcore sadomasochistic porn. By the late 1960s, however, the pink film had accrued radical political themes.

It was only in the 1990s that gay storylines took over in the films as Japan experienced a "gay boom", with homosexuality becoming a standard topic on television talk shows and in print media, and taken to the streets with the first gay pride marches.

Koichi, 27, started his career acting mainly in Japanese pink films, and has since appeared in over 100 films, although most have been straight porn.

Starting in 1998 with no film education, Koichi has written screenplays for three successful gay porn movies.

Aside from pink films for the big screen, the Tokyo resident is also involved in videos, underground and independent filmmaking. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 feature film Angel in the Toilet.

The Jakarta Post interviewed Koichi, whose answers were translated, before the screening of Naughty Boys here.

Question: How is the development of pink film today?

Imaizumi Koichi: Pink film was initiated some 30 years ago. It boomed, everyone loved it. Eventually, though, the popularity declined. But that actually was in tandem with the declining popularity of Japanese cinema in general.

What about Japanese gay films?

There's this film company which produces pink films. Around 15 years ago, it started to produce gay films, like one to five every year. They are screened in public movie theaters, but the audience is very limited. So, there's not many gay films being produced.

What is gay life in Japan like?

I can't tell you the general situation because it's very different in Tokyo from other cities. But (gay people) used to be very closed.

Starting in the 1990s, however, they started to open up, although it's different for every individual.

Back then, there was a popular film about gays, which introduced society to gay life. In the same year, discotheques and clubs began to hold gay nights, and gay communities started to spring up.

Is homosexuality protected by law?

The law doesn't prohibit it, but it doesn't protect homosexuals either. So, it's neither legal nor illegal. It could be said that the legal system is indifferent to it. Society doesn't think too much about the pros and cons, either. If gay people want to get married or live together, fine. But there's no legal means to protect them.

What do you want to present in your films?

I'm really interested in gay films from Japan and the United States. But most gay films are sad, the atmosphere is negative and tragic. I want to do something positive, something joyful. I want to show that gay films can be fun too.

Tell me about the making of Naughty Boys?

It took me around a year to complete the film. Three months for the shooting which I did every weekend, and six to seven months of editing. I used a digital camera because of the low budget. All of the actors were volunteers. I was also an extra in that movie, and acted as cameraman.

The film has been screened in festivals in Korea, Australia, Bombay and Portugal. It's pure fiction, but I wanted it to be honest and quirky. I wanted to portray the daily lives of Japanese gays.

There are still many shortcomings in the film. It's still too explicit and technically inferior. I'm satisfied with the music arrangement, though.

The style of the film is very Japanese, very anime, right?

I'm very surprised when people say it has very Japanese animation, in terms of the angles of the scenes. It was not deliberate.

Many gays object to the fact that their sexuality and sex is considered their defining point. But you're involved in pink films, making gay porn and there are some graphic sex scenes in Naughty Boys -- isn't that strengthening the stereotype?

I didn't intend to follow any stereotype. I just make movies that I'd like to make. There is indeed some sexuality in them. It's not following the stereotype, it's just that not all of the audience is gay. I want to explain to them what gay life is really like.

I'm not just involved in gay films, either. I've been involved in around 100 films, but only four to six of them are gay films.

What do you think about the Q Film Festival?

Thanks to this festival, I have been able to visit Jakarta. Japan is going to hold its own (gay and lesbian) film festival, this year is the 12th. But still the scale is much smaller than those in the United States or Europe.

I hope that small-scale festivals like the Q Film Festival can familiarize the public with gay and lesbian issues.

What is your next project?

I'm going to make a compilation of 10 short films, which are directed by different people.