#Regional cinema news

[aheroonahistorybookpage]

I'm going to see Twisters on the weekend, and I'm so excited. The movie is the part I'm last excited about, and I'm looking forward to it. Until I went to see the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie when it came out last year, the most recent movie I watched at a cinema was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July 2011. Anyway, shout out to cripling anxiety and panic attacks! It's taken me thirteen years, but I'm getting there.

[gobelluno]

“The Holdovers- Lezioni di vita” martedì al Cinema Italia

BELLUNO – Ultimo appuntamento del mese, martedì 26 marzo al Cinema Italia di Belluno con le proiezioni a tre euro de “La Regione del Veneto per il cinema di qualità – La Regione ti porta al cinema con tre euro – I martedì al cinema”, progetto pluriennale della Regione del Veneto realizzato in collaborazione con la Federazione Italiana Cinema d’Essai (FICE) delle Tre Venezie e l’Unione…

[richdadpoor]

When This Tamil Star Played A Record 10 Roles In His 2008 Film

When This Tamil Star Played A Record 10 Roles In His 2008 Film With this film, the actor created a record in Indian cinema, as it became the first Tamil film to gross Rs 200 crore worldwide. Kamal Haasan is a prominent Indian actor, who has featured in over 220 films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages. He started his career as a child artist in 1960 and has been part of…

[post-punk-author-anthony-day]

100 hours of POST PUNK

All eras (76, 1980s, post punk revival, post punk 2k)

All subgenres (no wave , the new wave, doomer, some shoegaze, dance punk , garage rock revival )

All Regions (Mex🇲🇽) (RUS🇷🇺) (UK🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿) (USA🇺🇸) (Den🇩🇰) (SWE🇸🇪)

Includes Interpol, Talking Heads, Lowlife UK, Joy Division, molchat doma, ,Iceage, Fontaines DC, Shame, Squid, Ploho, The Horrors, Bitchevsky Park, Bambara, A Projection, Protomartyr, makthaverskan , The Feelies, New Order, The Mission, Preoccupations, Black Midi, Editors, White Lies, The Strokes, KILLING JOKE, king krule, The National, Two Door Cinema Club, The Fall, Bauhaus , Nick Cave, Essential Logic, ESG, Viagra Boys and More !

[katzske]

EARTHSPARK SPOILERS ABOVE AND BELOW!

For a kids show, I'm glad that they're able to touch upon serious topics like the effect war has on individuals and, in this case, species. I think TFA is the only notable TF show that wiggled its finger and made clear yo these are fucking aliens. But even there it felt one sided, as in, robots finding organics gross.

In TFE, you get so many perspectives on the Cybertron- human relationship and I love is so much. You have people who embrace it and accept each others differences. You have those who have internalized xenophobia but don't notice. People who don't care and just wanna be themselves and live in peace. And those who outright HATE the other species.

Visuals: the first half had its animation mainly focused on action. and while there is still action here, the conclusion of the season offers a lot of cinematic shots which tbh kinda took out of the immersion but are awesome screenshot material. it gets really dark as well, and there is a shot with Bee that stood out to me, where he's hanging from a ceiling, and his expression is full of fear. It was grand.

Audio: You still have the same synth wave music (which I like) but you also get some amazing sound designs for animal based alt modes, like Grimlock and Tarantulas. Nightshade unfortunately has this repetitive sound playing whenever they fly, (hawk screech) since they don't have a motor IG??

Characters: The viewer will be introduced to Hashtag, Jawbreaker and Nightshade. They have distinct abilities and personalities. (By now, I can already tell that my favorite Terrans are Nightshade, Jawbreaker and Twitch lol). They're interesting characters and their dedicated episodes were quite entertaining.

The most notable new characters who actually have their dedicated episodes and voice lines are Shockwave and Tara. Shockwave, as you can see from my memes, is a raging classist and racist. He's pure evil. But I really enjoy him because he's so smug. Imagine TFA Shock's smugness but in higher dosage. I fucking love it. HIS VOICE HAS SO MUCH RANGE. reminds me of an evil DJ subatomic supernova. His eye also reminds me of shin godzilla's... an unrelenting blank stare, unnaturally wide. Tarantulas on the other hand takes a much different spin than his BW counterpart. I think he joined the cons and stuck with them is because he wanted equality for all (during a short convo between Megs and Shock it's implied that it was their original goal). He's sick of the war and just wants to survive. He wants to be himself. He does these typical cinema spider noises like hisses, or gargles in his alt mode BUT OH BOY in his robot mode he's one fine fella. And his voice. chef kiss. i think it's British, but can't pinpoint what region.

Plot: Earthspark is gonna build upon the concept which TFP poorly introduced: A villan human faction. TFE is building upon and further fleshing out what they tried to do with M.E.C.H. The execution so far looks very promising.

They have taken their time to introduce G.H.O.S.T for a whole season, and put a bit of effort into showing that the organization is made out of individuals who have different motivations.

Their official motivation is understandable. The "good guys" wanna protect civilians from threats, like bots who break shit. But ofc there are some nasty people in the ranks who are lowkey masochists lol

Also, since Cybertronians are known to the public, it deepens the complexity of the conflict. Xenophobia against Cybertronians ranges from this cooperation to just regular people, who are mad that their planet was turned into a battle ground.

[brian-in-finance]

Caitríona Balfe attends the "Ford v Ferrari" press conference during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on 10 September 2019 in Toronto, Canada.

Image: Roxstar Entertainment

Collider Media Studio Returns To TIFF With Some of the Biggest Names in Hollywood

With the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) just around the corner, we’re thrilled to announce that Collider Media Studio will be returning to the Toronto International for another round of exciting interviews with support from Range Rover Canada. This year we have one of our bigger line-ups ever with scheduled talks with the top talent of the festival including Bobby Carnavale, Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gilian, Cobie Smulders, Ben Foster, Olympic Gold Medal Boxer Claressa Shields, Chloë Sevigny, Henry Golding, Beatrice Grannò, David Gordon Green, Pamela Anderson, Max Minghella, Orlando Bloom, John Turturro, Caitríona Balfe, Soul Rasheed, Brett Goldstein, Imogen Poots, Jee Young Han, Dakota Johnson, Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Ron Howard, Ana De Armas, Isabella Rosellini, Ed Burns, Shamier Anderson, Minnie Driver, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Ryoo Seung-wan, Sandra Oh, Haley Joel Osment, and Gretchen Mol to name a few.

The program is produced by Leading Hollywood Events and Communications group, Roxstar Entertainment and their successful hospitality platform, the Cinema Center. Our sponsor partner Range Rover will help get the talent to our media studio with the 2024 Ranger Rover Sport, the official luxury vehicle partner of the Cinema Center and Collider Studio. Celebrities can enjoy the latest Range Rover Sport’s blend of sportiness, refinement, and connected convenience, ensuring they arrive at their red-carpet events in style and comfort.

Additional supporting sponsors include poppi soda, the better for you soda brand made with ingredients you love, like fruit juice and apple cider vinegar that create a mouthwatering soda with only 5 grams of sugar and 25 calories. Beloved by celebrities like Post Malone, Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Billie Eilish, Russell Westbrook, and Olivia Munn, poppi is revolutionizing soda for the next generation. poppi is now available at major retailers across Canada, including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Metro, Save on Foods, Maxi, Safeway, and Costco and key ecommerce retailers amazon.ca, instacart.ca and well.ca.

In addition, the Cinema Center will be serving up a themed cocktail menu featuring the ultra-premium Tequila Don Julio, as well as Ketel One Vodka, Tanqueray Gin, and Bulleit Bourbon. Don Julio’s luxury tequila is renowned for its use of only the highest caliber, fully matured and ripened Blue Agave that has been hand-selected from the rich, clay soils of the Los Altos region of the state of Jalisco.

Other partners include Canada’s new premium spring water brand, Legend Water co. and Peoples Group financial services will all be engaging our talent and guests with product offerings and special brand experiences onsite.

Check out the poster below and stay tuned to our socials for updates on this year’s Collider Media Studio at TIFF.

Collider

Caitríona Balfe attends the "Ford v Ferrari" press conference during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on 10 September 2019 in Toronto, Canada.

Remember the return to TIFF?

[courtana]

We, Black Curatorial, Kwanda, Twossaints, Black Eats London & West India Cinema Corporation have come together to fundraise for people affected by Hurricane Beryl across the West Indies. As West Indian people it is imperative that we support each other and ourselves in the building back of our communities, this is a duty. Hurricane Beryl has devastated hundreds of communities in the West Indies. This is not a freak storm, this is a direct impact of climate crisis in the region - fuelled and sustained by overconsumption and emissions in the Global North. The ocean waters are 4 degrees warmer than expected at this time of year, this has directly affected the speed and ferocity of the hurricane at the beginning of this year's hurricane season. To understand what the importance of AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) is for Hurricane season in the Caribbean and globally please watch this video. The impact of this hurricane is very much being felt, "90% of homes on Union Island had been destroyed", according to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. We’re fundraising for people and charities across Barbados, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada and those affected across the region. The money raised will go towards helping local fishermen in Barbados to buy new boats, support roofing and housing materials for people in Carriacou, Union and Grenada and well as St Vincent to rebuild their livelihoods and homes. We are working collectively to disseminate these funds across the region ensuring they reach grassroots communities and people directly. The Hurricane is now a category 5 and on its way to Jamaica. We urge everyone to pray for its weakening and for the people currently effected by Beryl's peril. Please continue to share and donate to those affected! If you have any questions please email us.

WHERE ARE THE DONATIONS GOING?

This fund exists to go directly to grassroots organisations providing support for those across the following countries: Barbados St Vincent & the Grenadines Carriacou Petite Martinique Union Grenada Jamaica

HOW WILL THEY BE PROCESSED AND ADMINISTERED?

We are working with Kwanda to help disseminate the funds to the existing groups they work with in the affected countries. Black Curatorial work across Barbados and Jamaica administering funds for creatives via the Fly Me Out Fund our process of sending money via transfer is already set up to support and facilitate this fund's dissemination.

WHO'S INVOLVED?

Black Curatorial Kwanda West India Cinema Corporation Twossaints Black Eats London

[thozhar]

The story, which was developed by both Eve and Gogu since October 2023, is partly rooted in the childhood of Eve, a Mindanao native who had grown up with the violence of the Marawi conflict. As the daughter of a Filipino army man, Eve had been exposed to the conflict from a different perspective. Although she too grew up with the intimate and brutal reality of violence, her circumstances did not allow her to view the occupation from the perspective of the oppressed Muslims. Her reality was one that shielded her from understanding the conflict more complexly; thus, in her childhood, she viewed Muslims as aggressors without realising what prompted them to initiate the struggle for an independent state. Through visualising the displacement of the Maranao Muslims in Walay Balay, Eve expresses the inter-connectivity between their alienation to the larger alienation of the many peoples of the Philippines, who have been uprooted from their indigenous consciousness by the violence of colonialism.

“It is clear and important to me to see the story of the Muslim refugees because the Philippines was not a Christian country before the Spanish colonisation. Our ancestors were forced to convert to Christianity so they cannot be seen as enemies of the colonisers. Our ancestors who once owned the land and their identity eventually became lost in their own land stripped away of their own name. In a way, this is my way of telling that tragic, part of our history through our characters who lost their home and are in  search of their identities.” – Eve Baswel

The siege of Marawi, one of the oldest Islamic cities in Mindanao, happened in 2017 when ISIS collapsed the local government, occupied the city, and was warring against the Filipino government for nearly 5 months. Due to the violent conflict, many of the city’s residents had to evacuate, displacing nearly 300,000 people from their ancestral soil. Even after the reclamation of Marawi by the government, the Maranao Muslim refugees who had returned to their native land had been met with many bureaucratic difficulties. Till today, nearly 7 years after the conflict, many Maranao Muslims have not been properly relocated by the government. Due to the strong anti-colonial history that the Mindanao region has in fighting against the imperial subjugations of the Spanish, the Maranao people also refuse to bow to the hegemonic reign of the Catholic-dominated Filipino government, which is aggressively trying to centralise the Filipino landscape against the will of the masses. A way in which the government tries to claim power over the land is by demanding registered land permits from the residents of Marawi, who, in defiance of this neocolonial bureaucracy, refuse to abide by the self-made rules that the puppet government imposes on their rightful native land, a revolutionary spirit they have critically carried on since struggling against the violence of Spanish and American colonialism.

“Displacement is not new to us,” says Gogu, referring to how, as a descant of indentured Tamils who at first faced uprooting from their ancestral land in Tamil Nadu, and once again during the aftermath of colonialism, from the plantations, he too can understand the struggles of displacement, but he states that to him, the uprooting that Maranao Muslims have faced is far worse than the displacement of Plantation Tamils, for the Maranao Muslims had been made landless in their own land while the Plantation Tamils had been made landless on alien soil.

— Gogularaajan Rajendran on Co-directing Walay Balay, Filipino Cinema, and His Cannes Debut

[coldcrashpictures]

Just watched the recent Saurian cinema, and you sparked me thinking about whales. I have recently been learning about the south-east coast region of Australia. The Yuin people there had a really complex symbiotic relationship with the orcas and would collaboratively hunt baleen whales. Of course, the story has an awful ending when colonialism and capitalism get involved. Thought I would just share this little known piece of history. Have a nice whatever the relative time in your zone is.

Oh wow, this is WILD!

[pharawee]

🖇️BL WATCHLIST AUGUST

🎬Battle of the Writers - YOUTUBE - I finally had the time to start watching this but I'm not 100% on board yet.

🎬First Note of Love - GAGAOOLALA - I'm only in it for Jame Kasama my beloved and he hasn't popped up yet. :(

🎬Addicted Heroin - Jinloe's remake of Addicted has already garnered some controversy due to one of the actors being underage, but the trailer seems to suggest that they changed much of the tone of the original novel. This currently has no release for inter fans, but I'll keep you updated.

🎬I Saw You in My Dream - GAGAOOLALA - I trust Dee Hup with my life. But also Putter my beloved!

🎬Monster Next Door - WeTV | GAGAOOLALA - After years of third-wheeling and manifesting, Big Thanakorn finally got himself a main role. Thank you Kongthup I owe u my life!

🎬This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - IQIYI (region-locked) | YOUTUBE - This might be too slice-of-life for me atm.

🎬4 Minutes - VIU - Not sure what to think of this quite yet, especially since I'm fighting for my life every week trying to find the uncut version. I'm also a bit miffed that BOC seems set to typecast Jet as the irredeemable villain. :(

🎬SunsetxVibes - IQIYI - Mos as a naga, Lin hallucinating a whole hook-up, JJ with the best faces... but that's about it.

🖇️CALENDAR (THAI BL ONLY)

🖇️UPCOMING

⭐The Paradise of Thorns - CINEMA - Technically, this is a queer movie and not a BL. Also, this will release in cinemas and on festivals first, so it might be a while before we can watch it.

🖇️FINISHED

🎬The Rebound - GAGAOOLALA - I'm going to miss this show. And I'm going to miss this version of Frank Thanatsaran.

🎬Knock Knock, Boys! - GAGAOOLALA - This show is definitely one of my favourites of 2024.

🎬Century of Love - GAGAOOLALA - I loved everything about this show. Except for the director who can go step on a lego.

➕ MDL | ABOUT | ALL WATCHLISTS | COMMENTARY & NEWS TAG | THAI BL NOVELS | BL INDUSTRY | UPCOMING | SPOOKY BL

[teetlezhere]

RISE OF THE TMNT: Homecoming GAME REVIEW SO FAR:

The more I play the Rise of the TMNT game from china (for those who ask: I found it as an APK TMNT: Homecoming), the more I realize this is the game Nickelodeon should have given us from the very start.

The first picture reads Beta, but it's an old pic and they've made some upgrades as the newer version (or at least, the one I currently play) features Mikey.

It's kinda of a long review so, if you're interested, read under the cut:

Brief resume: China got to be a lucky bastard on Rise because not only they had the movie stream in cinemas, they also developed a game around it! I'm sad this game has been pretty much left obscure to the general public. I've only found out by accident on twitter months ago. So I've decided to try and play it to see if it's worth it.

In my opinion. Yes. It is worth it!

Sure, it took me a while to get this working, mostly because China put game restrictions of some kind and region-locked it, but today I've finally made it work correctly and it was all worth it!

The game has sooo much more than what Nickelodeon's games ever gave us! The amount of content and show references and Backgrounds for this game is insane!

It features different modes: Story, Player vs Player and Online Team play vs Boss fights.

Main Story mode follows season 1 and 2, with fights against baddies like Draxum, Big Mama, the Foot Brute and Foot lieutenant and minor villains like Hypno, Warren, Ghostbear, Meat Sweats, Repo Mantis, etc.

Beside story mode, the game features a PvP with it's own league rank system (I played a round as Leonardo against another Leonardo player and I won, lmao). There's also a feature to play as a team vs bosses. Basically, here you can team up with other players (again, I played as Leonardo and was paired with 2 Raph players vs the Purple Dragons. It was fun!).

April and Splinter are heavily featured as secondary characters and don't seem to be playable, but there are plenty of illustrations of them in-game.

Great news? We have Cassandra as a boss fight!

I've not spotted Casey II or Krangs so far, but I'm still on the first few levels and I'll keep an eye out.

All the turtles seem to be playable, with Leo being the first you get to play, followed by Raph. I've unlocked Mikey, though I can't read chinese for the life of me and I hope he'll stick around as playable in the future and not just momentarily. Donnie for now is still locked for me, and I've yet to understand if He's unlocked as a daily reward or not...

All turtle come with their own special slots for upgrades, and at least one for special cosmetics (Leo got some sick tech gauntlets, and Mikey gets a cool nifty cape like his future self for now).

There's also options for skin change and Outfits that include the Hamato Ninjas outfits from Insane in the Mama Train, Big busters suits and a few other like Pirate Leo's outfit and Red Reign Raph from Shell in a Cell.

For the rest, it's pretty much like the other games that include daily rewards and missions, objectives to clear, etc. It also features a three-option gacha system to obtain resources useful to upgrade gear, obtain rare items (blue, purple and gold usually rank from common to rare) and make the turtles stronger.

So yeah. Downloading and playing this is a bit of a hassle, but after cracking the code, it's a really cool game and I absolutely love it!

[gobelluno]

"Le otto montagne" oggi al Cinema Italia

BELLUNO – Proseguono al Cinema Italia di Belluno gli appuntamenti dell’edizione 2023 de “La Regione del Veneto per il cinema di qualità – La Regione ti porta al cinema con tre euro – I martedì al cinema”, progetto pluriennale della Regione del Veneto realizzato in collaborazione con la Federazione Italiana Cinema d’Essai (FICE) delle Tre Venezie e l’Unione Interregionale Triveneta AGIS. Per la…

[sanshofox]

Can you recommend your favorite comedies/romcoms from the 50s and 60s? I'd love to watch more but I have trouble finding more than the Classics™️ (as decided by? websites in general I guess?)

Yours, mine and ours (1968)

A touch of mink (1962)

Send me no flowers (1964)

Pillow talk (1959)

Lover come back (1961)

Move over darling (1963)

The thrill of it all (1963)

Operation petticoat (1959)

Houseboat (1958)

Cinderella story (sophia loren, 1967, this one is hard to find)

it started in naples (1960)

Indiscreet (1958)

Blondes preferred (1953)

We’re no angels (1955)

Teacher‘s pet (1958)

Carry-on movies in general (throughout the 50s,60s and 70s)

Father of the bride (1951)

The countess from hong kong (1967)

Roman holiday (1953)

Sabrina (1954, tbh I prefer the 90s version more though)

Charade (1963)

My fair lady (1964)

Funny girl (1968)

Louis de funès movies in general (50s, 60s, 70s)

Strange bedfellows (1965)

Those are my favs so far. I still have a few movies left to watch with i.e. katherine hepburn, spencer tracy and shirley maclaine and others in the main cast, but there aren’t many left on my list. Additionally germany didn’t localize every movie back then, mostly those that were already successful in their home country and would promise guaranteed success in german cinema, so there‘s the chance that most of the movies I named are listed as classics. Though I do hope I could name a few that are new to you. :D

I also have german fav movies from the 50s and 60s but I dunno the region you’re from, so I listed only those that have english as main language or have subtitles.

If there’s someone that would like to contribute their fav in the comments please do so.

[hatshepsuthypatia]

no but like the literal change in “mahaul” after the elections! Past ten years were too monotonous, too one sided, nothing but celebration and propagation of brahamanical ideologies and rigid, masculine conduct; anything alternative was policed to death. Our voices, our cinema, our lifestyles, opinions everything was ridiculed mercilessly if they were slightly divergent from mainstream agenda. Coalition politics brings much needed chaos and plurality with it. Just in a matter of two days, news channel are whistling a different tune, Modi-Shah complex looks subdued, there is a strong opposition and fresh young regional leaders. Opinions that were piped down for a decade are being entertained again . Change is here and we’re loving every second of it !

[louisupdates]

[This article has been translated from Japanese]

Louis Tomlinson came to Japan for the first time in about 8 years since the One Direction era, and he was the “Japa” of his own documentary film "ALL OF THOSE VOICES" held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills. I attended the premiere with director Charlie Lightning.

This work, which will be released for a limited time simultaneously worldwide on March 22 (Wednesday), starts from One Direction’s last concert before the hiatus. It includes Louis' unreleased home movies and his sold-out 2022 world tour, and is a work that depicts the conflicts and challenges of Louis' new life — going from a super popular group to solo artist, behind the scenes. The title "ALL OF THOSE VOICES" comes from the single "Bigger Than Me,” included in Louis' second solo album "Faith In The Future" released in November 2022. The phrase appears in the lyrics of "Bigger Than Me.”

"All of those voices and all of those choices / I don’t hear them anymore / I don’t hear them anymore."

Louis told me about his thoughts on the title of the movie in a solo interview with the Front Row editorial department, realized at the time of this visit to Japan. "It’s an expression of the situation that many opinions are attached to my work. As you know, everyone says, ‘It's better to do this.’ The media are the same, and everyone at the record label will give their opinions. So this phrase means that while I respect such opinions as much as possible, and while considering some of them, let's look inside ourselves more and do what we want to do, without worrying too much about the influence from the outside. It just is.”

As you know, during the past 8 years, when Louis was not blessed with the opportunity to come to Japan, including the force majeure of canceling performances in Japan due to the pandemic, he actually started his career as a solo artist after One Direction went on hiatus. He gained a huge reputation as a member of a global pop group that had been loved by the nickname of 1D, and even after the hiatus, Louis believed in his own way and pushed forward, and in the latest album, it was finally his first solo album to win the first place in the UK. Now he has established himself as a solo star. Being able to watch this movie that follows Louis' trajectory as a solo artist is a record of the time he was away from Japan, especially because it is too valuable for Japanese fans.

The front row editorial department met Louis, who was smiling happily all the time in Japan for the first time in 8 years, and while looking back on the activities of the past 8 years when he was absent from Japan after the movie, the latest album "Faith In The Future" I have questions about various topics, including memories in Japan, his world tours that will come to Japan again next month, and start here in Japan, and thoughts on One Direction. Louis answered each one of them sincerely and politely.

It's been 8 years since you came to Japan! How was Japan for the first time in 8 years?

It's the best! It took a long time to come back. I'm lucky to be able to go to various places as a solo artist and as a member of a group (One Direction). Even so, Japan has always been a place I look forward to coming to again. People are wonderful, the atmosphere is wonderful, and the scenery is the best. And the show in Japan is very unique. It feels different from any region in the world. So I'm relieved to be back. When I was working as part of One Direction, I was lucky enough to come to Japan every year or every other year, but I had been gone for 8 years. I feel relieved to be back, and I'm lucky that there are people who will come to see my movie and want to come to the shows. Anyway, I'm really happy to be back.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE JAPAN TO BE ONE OF THE FEW COUNTRIES TO PREMIERE THE DOCUMENTARY MOVIE "ALL OF THOSE VOICES" ALONG WITH YOUR CHOICE OF THE UK AND MEXICO?

First of all, the reason is that I haven't been to Japan for a while. Then, one of the things I wanted to focus on in this movie was how lucky it was to have fans in various countries. I think holding a premiere in London, Mexico, and here in Japan proves the breadth of the fan base.

Please tell me about the title of the movie "ALL OF THOSE VOICES". What kind of thoughts are put into this title?

It is also a phrase ("Bigger Than Me") in the lyrics of the song, but it expresses the situation that many opinions are attached to my work. As you know, everyone says, ‘It's better to do this.’ The media are the same, and everyone in the record label will voice their opinions. So this phrase means I respect such opinions as much as possible and, while considering some of them, let's look inside ourselves more and do what we want to do without worrying too much about the influence from the outside.

The movie begins with the decision for One Direction to go on hiatus in 2016. Now that it's been 7 years since the suspension of activities, what does One Direction mean to you?

It's everything. It's everything. I really loved it, and I still love it. I can only be proud to be a member of something on that scale. I'm really proud of it. Because we were definitely the coolest when the band was active!

In the movie, you can see the trajectory after embarking on a solo career, but if you look back on your career as a solo artist and list three turning points to the present, which come to mind?

Ooh, that's a great question. I'll try to answer intuitively. Well, I wonder what kind of words will come out of my head... First of all, when I appeared in "X Factor" and performed for the first time (solo debut song "Just Hold On") with Steve Aoki. At that time, it was a difficult time (*) for me personally, and I was quite overwhelmed. So when I finished that stage, I felt like my fear had been dispelled. I don't think there was a more painful performance than that time. It was the moment when I told myself that I could do it even in extreme situations.

※ Louis is sad that his mother Johannah died of leukemia at the young age of 42 on December 7 2016, just before releasing her solo debut single "Just Hold On" in collaboration with Steve Aoki on December 10, 2016. Being on stage with Steve in "The X Factor" was Louis’ first public performance since his mother passed away.

Also, I would like to mention when I wrote "Walls" and "Kill My Mind" (included in the first album “Walls"). If I hadn't written these two songs on the first album, I don't think "Faith In The Future" would have turned out like it is. These two songs gave me the confidence that I could make the music I wanted to.

The third turning point was the tour last year. I love tours, but I've also felt uneasy for many years. "I wonder what my show will be like?" " Can I do the show by myself?" I worry like that. So I became confident after I was able to tour last year, and there were wonderful audiences that boosted that confidence. If I were to name the most recent turning point, it would be touring.

In the movie, you cite songwriting as the most personal pride that you achieved through your activities in One Direction. Now that you are in your 7th year of starting your solo career, what do you feel proud of as a solo artist?

There are several, but I’ll mention "Faith In The Future". Without a doubt, this is an album that I've always wanted to make. I have that sense of accomplishment that I was able to make what I really wanted to make while working as a solo artist for several years.

And there's nothing I'm more proud of than the connection with my fans. I think every artist says that the connection with fans is special, and I'm sure that's right, but the connection between me and my fans is really special. Some of the fans have been supporting me since I was working in One Direction. It's like we've grown up together. There is a bond in the true sense. The bonds should be felt by the fans as well as myself. You can feel that kind of bond at the show.

Let me ask you a little more about the latest album "Faith In The Future". Can you tell me if there is anything that inspired the album itself or the title?

Overall, what inspired me was the live performances I did before I started working on this album. As for the title, when I listened to the first album "Walls" again, I thought it was "hmm" myself, but it was emotionally heavy. I wanted to shake that off. When I look at the title at a glance, I want to make people feel hope and positivity. I thought the title "Faith In The Future" was a title that feels hopeful, isn't it? It set the tone for the whole album. Of course, the album touches both light and shadow, but I think it reflects my current emotions and positive feelings about life.

In relation to positive feelings, when I asked questions from fans for the interview, one said, "I sometimes think negatively, but what do I do to change to positive thinking?" Please let me know if there is anything you are doing to make you feel positive.

First of all, I want you to remember that emotions are personal, so the ways to deal with them is also different. On top of that premise, how I'm dealing with it, to be honest, I can't say exactly. I didn't fight like a warrior, and I didn't feel sad all the time. Of course, sometimes I do get depressed, but I forget it the next day. I think it's a lucky thing because I can overcome it without thinking about it too much. I don't know why, but maybe it's the way I was raised when I was a child. In any case, fortunately, I'm not the type to keep worrying.

But if you can confide in someone, you’ll see that communication has incredible power. I've always been saved by kind people and kind families around me. It means having the courage to reveal your feelings. Sometimes it's hard to talk about them, but when you confess your feelings, you don't feel as bad. You'll always feel better. I think that's also helpful for me to be positive.

Thank you. And I'm happy to say that you’ll come back to Japan again next month and start the world tour in 2023 from here in Japan. The Osaka performance will be the beginning, but let me ask you about your thoughts on starting this year's tour from Japan.

I was able to have a wonderful time when I came with the band (One Direction). I think it's a nice and fun place. It's like I said earlier, but I'm happy to be able to come back to Japan again soon. I'm really looking forward to going to Osaka.

If you were to name the song of "Faith In The Future" that you’re most looking forward to performing on the Japan Tour, which song is it?

I did some shows when I released the album, so I've already played some songs from the new work, but I'm looking forward to "Saturdays" among them. For some reason, when I sing this song, my heartfelt emotions come up. It's a song that has already been performed about 4 or 5 times, but I want to sing it many times from now on. And so is "Out of My System" as well. If you listen to it, I think you can imagine how exciting and fun the performance will be. So I'll mention that song too.

What about the songs on the album that I haven't played yet? There are some songs that can be said to be relatively suitable for dancing. I'm looking forward to seeing how such songs like "All This Time" and "She Is Beauty We Are World Class" work in the set list. In the album, they were songs that weee produced while being conscious of making the sound wider. I'm also looking forward to seeing how such songs complement more guitar-based songs.

Do you have any memories that have left a particular impression on your visit to Japan so far?

This is my memory, maybe the fans will say, "You didn't do that!" I might be told that. But in my memory, I remember when we performed "Story Of My Life" for the first time. I chose Japan as a place to perform this song because the Japanese people had sincere respect as an audience. If I did the performance I'm going to describe in England, I'm sure they would scream or shout something toward the stage, but we performed "Story Of My Life" live in Japan a cappella (*). I think that was a performance that could not be realized outside of Japan. It was a magical moment. Japan is the first time we performed in such a way. That performance in a cappella was the best moment. It's the memory of a lifetime.

※ One Direction performed "Story Of My Life" in a cappella several times in Japan, and Japanese fans protected the silence so that the members can perform.

By the way, will the songs of One Direction be included in the set list of this tour?

Of course! Because I always do that. So far, I've performed about 5 to 6 1D songs solo. Recently, I've been performing "Night Changes", and that song is rather a slow song, but I arranged it into an up-tempo version. Personally, I find it interesting in such a place. I'm going to update the songs I used to sing as a member of the band when I was young to match my current musicality. That kind of challenge is fun.

Finally, please give a message to the fans in Japan!

There are a lot of wonderful memories in Japan. I’ll say it again, the shows in Japan have a special charm, and I can't explain it accurately in words, but I feel a special feeling. It's always special when there's a show in Japan. I'm really grateful to all the fans in Japan. I haven't been able to visit Japan for 8 years, but this time I will hold a premiere like this, and I will be able to go on a tour next month. I'm really happy.