The Old Young Crow
An Iranian boy befriends an old Japanese woman at a graveyard in Tokyo.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Animator Liam LoPinto
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was living in Tokyo at the time, studying at Waseda University. I spent a lot of time life drawing throughout the city and one day happened to draw in a small graveyard in West Tokyo. The atmosphere and the crows inspired me to do some initial sketches of a boy eating lunch surrounded by the graves there. I decided to model the boy's heritage after my own and focus on the life of an Iranian immigrant in Tokyo.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's got a lot of interesting pop culture references from the mid-2000s when I was growing up. I think subconsciously I set the film in that time and I always love when people notice some obscure details I put in the film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The story is about a boy isolated in a completely different society, yet he finds a sense of peace and spirituality by acknowledging that the land is more welcoming than he initially perceives. By being himself and honoring nature and the dead, he's able to truly live and find a sense of home in Japan. I think a lot of people also relate to the idea of isolation through food and language. When we don't look like the people around us or talk like the people around us or eat like the people around us, we push ourselves away from interacting and assimilating on multiple levels. Immigrants have to do their own share of digging in order to find a place in new cultures.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script started being a lot more mystery focused. It was darker and explored the gruesome nature of the suicide. As a took a step back though, I realized that the part of the film I wanted to focus on was less of the tragedy and more of the connection between Mehrdad and Chiyo and Chiharu through language and isolation. Years later I picked up the film again and began exploring the film through the context of my grandfather's voice. In changing the film to be a memory seen through the eyes of an older Mehrdad, I found it was more engaging to tell the story through the lens of the sketchbook. And through the sketchbook, I was able to incorporate the relationship between the animated segments and the live-action footage.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The most positive feedback that I received was in context of the mix of animation and live-action. Everyone seemed to enjoy how the footage and the various animation techniques played off of each other. The presence of the actors too, whether it was my grandfather's hands and voice, or Naoto's eyes left a nice impression on people. It seemed like everyone wanted more. Especially the Googoosh track and remix.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I was more grateful than surprised or challenged. It was just nice to know that the risk paid off with the animation and live-action because there are so many examples, my own included, where it doesn't work or doesn't feel organic.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It's nice to be in company with so many films on this website. I've been going through a lot and I love seeing the interviews with the creatives working on their films. People are really candid in spaces like this and it's really inspiring. I'm hoping people read or watch the film and are more enthusiastic about continuing their work or film projects and not getting too discouraged by the slumps and draining obstacles in between the middle and the end. It's definitely worth it to be done.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'm looking to just engage with people about the messages behind this film and be in dialogue with more of my diaspora and creatives who want to make similar work to this. It's really nice to be able to be part of programming that examines Middle-Eastern and Asian themes as well as focuses on refugees and immigrants.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I'd like it to be able to open more doors to multi-language films, set maybe here in the US or even in Japan and abroad.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Maybe something like: "How long would you wait for someone you've lost?"
Would you like to add anything else?
It was really nice to be reached out for this. I haven't actually completed something like this yet for the film so it was great to be able to answer some of these questions or at least attempt to.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm slowly developing a feature version of this story that I think would be really exciting!
Interview: April 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
The Old Young Crow
An Iranian boy befriends an old Japanese woman at a graveyard in Tokyo.
Length: 12:00
Director: Liam LoPinto
Producer: Liam LoPinto
Writer: Liam LoPinto
About the writer, director and producer:
LIAM LOPINTO is a filmmaker and animator from New York City. He graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2017 and attended the California Institute of the Arts' Character Animation program from 2017-2021. He is an assistant manager at the Moviehouse in Millerton, NY. He previously lived in Japan working in videography and editing after studying at Waseda University, concentrating on Cinema studies. His influences include Abbas Kiarostami, Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, Agnes Varda, and Hayao Miyazaki. His films often focus on immigrants, refugees, language, and the Iranian diaspora. His four favorite films are Raiders of the Lost Ark, Late Spring, Porco Rosso, and Where Is The Friend's House?.
Key cast: Naoto Shibata, Hassan Shahbazi, Keiko Yamashita, Hitoshi Hinomizu
Looking for: film festival directors, producers and journalists
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Blackbird Film Festival/Cortland, NY USA - April
Dallas International Film Festival/Dallas, TX USA - May
LAAPF/Los Angeles, CA USA - May
CAAMFest/San Francisco, CA USA - May
Cannes Short Film Corner/Cannes, France - May
Short Shorts Film Festival/Tokyo, Japan - June
Curtas de Vilo do Conde/Curtas, Portugal - July