‘All the Long Nights’ Premieres at the Berlin International Film Festival

‘All the Long Nights,’ released on Friday, February 9, had its international premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on Wednesday, February 21 (local time).

The film was selected for the Forum section, which gathers innovative films that include new perspectives and focuses on stories with strong personalities and diversity. Hokuto Matsumura, who plays “Yamazoe-kun,” a man whose life is completely changed by a panic disorder, Mone Kamishiraishi, who plays “Fujisawa-san,” a woman who suffers from monthly PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and loses control of her emotions, and director Sho Miyake, were on hand for interviews with the local media and other events.

The three first visited the red carpet at the Zoo Palast, a local movie theater. Matsumura, who was unable to participate in the previous Berlin International Film Festival despite being invited for “Suzume”, in which she acted as a voice actress, said with enthusiasm, “I have a feeling of revenge! I’m starting to be moved that this film was shot in a small town in Tokyo, Japan, so when I traveled to Berlin and finally saw the scenery of this (Berlin) city, I was impressed that it is finally reaching the world now. Kamishiraishi said, “I am more than happy to be able to come to a place I never thought I would be able to participate in in my life, through a film that I love and care about.

At the international premiere screening held at Delphi Filmpalast, a theater built at the end of the 18th century, a pre-screening stage greeting was held. Matsumura and Kamishiraishi responded to the 670-seat capacity audience with a greeting in German and English, “Guten Abend!”

After the screening of the film, a Q&A session with the audience was held. The two actors played a man and a woman with PMS and panic disorder, who each have their own “difficulties in life,” and when asked if they participated in the film because they were interested in these themes, they answered, “It is impossible to know everything through this film, but I hope that it will help people to cope with their symptoms, even if it is only one step or half a step. Matsumura answered, “It is impossible to know everything through this film, but I was acting with the strong feeling that it would be nice if I could be one or half step closer to the symptoms”. Kamishiraishi asked the audience, “In Japan, it is difficult to talk about women’s menstruation with men. Is it the same here?” The atmosphere was friendly from start to finish.

After the premiere screening, an interview was held with the three filmmakers. Miyake said, “After the screening, I was thrilled to receive strong applause from the audience and felt that they loved the two characters (Yamazoe and Fujisawa) as if they were friends. Matsumura said, “This movie is a reflection of many people’s lives, and I could feel that the audience felt the hardships and the laughter of life together with me.

Matsumura and Kamishiraishi participated in the Berlin International Film Festival for the first time. “I felt the audience was very professional, and I was very comfortable,” said Matsumura. When asked about their impressions of the Q&A, Matsumura said, “All the questions made me want to know more about this film, which gave me even more confidence in this film,” while Kamishiraishi commented, “I was happy to see so many hands raised, and I felt that this film festival is truly loved by everyone.”

Meanwhile, following “Kimi no Tori wa Utaueru” (Forum section) in 2019 and “Keiko Me no Sumimete” (Encounters section) in 2022, Miyake was selected for the third “Berlin International Film Festival” for his film. Miyake said, “I feel that this film is a more objective experience of Japan than my previous two films. While this film is a story of people living with PMS, panic disorder, and various other sufferings, at the same time, I felt that the characters are living within the invisible boundaries of “Japan” because I saw the reactions of people from overseas,” he said. “I felt that because I saw the reactions of people from overseas,” he said, referring to his past selections.

Based on Maiko Seo’s novel of the same title, the film depicts the daily lives of Ms. Fujisawa, who is unable to control her emotions due to PMS, and Mr. Yamazoe, whose life has been completely changed by panic disorder, as they spend time together as colleagues and learn about each other’s “difficulties in life” and support each other, saying, “Even if we cannot help ourselves, we can help others.” The film depicts their daily lives. In Japan, the film drew 130,000 viewers and earned 180 million yen at the box office in its first three weekends of release. The film is also scheduled to screen in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.