Shimotsu Yuta: “I was inspired by what I had learned during sociology”

During the 24^e Edition of the “Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival”, “New Group” was offered exclusively and marked thanks to its frightening human construction. In addition, Its Japanese director, took the time to answer our few questions. – Shimotsu yuta: "i inspired what

Apparently, “Mina ni Ko are” is your first film and the second is “New Group”. Similarly, The two have the theme of horror. Nevertheless, Why this choice? The kind of horror transcends world culture with a single idea, which I was captivated fairly quickly.

In fact, what is the story of “Mina or Ko Are”? However, shimotsu yuta: “i inspired what This feature film is based on the principle that our happiness is built on the sacrifice of others. However, And the main character, accepts it as his story progresses, this sad reality. Meanwhile, This achievement is also a metaphor of the world in which we live.

I found rare information on “New Group” on the Internet. In addition, Why so little and what was the basic idea of this film? As it will be released in Japan only in 2026, we decided to limit the information to be published. Indeed, we believe that too much will decrease its impact for next year.

In fact, I was inspired by what I had learned during sociology: “society is made up of different groups”. I incorporated Japanese social issues such as satire. human pyramid, which represent in particular, symbols of stagnation within Japanese society.

The story takes place in a school. Was it shimotsu yuta: “i inspired what a real place or had you turned in a studio? If it were a real place, how did you manage to film concretely? The school was a real school that had to be closed. The interior decorations were provided by the artistic and technical teams.

1^re Figure that students perform, does it really exist? How did you manage to create it with so much ease from the actors? To be honest, the shooting was so difficult that I could not communicate much with the actors. But they did their best.

What was the easiest scene to shoot? Nothing was easy to shimotsu yuta: “i inspired what turn (laugh). 1^re Part of the shooting. where we had to build a human pyramid at 9 levels on the school field, was very difficult. The 4 lower levels were built using plates and the actors and appearing, settled as justly as possible.

While the 5 upper levels were more built thanks to sports techniques, gymnasts in fact. The Nippon Sport Science University, a team of specialized gymnastics of Tokyo, helped us a lot in this process.

In addition to horrific and a little more humorous subjects, you approach the subject of family dramas. Why shimotsu yuta: “i inspired what these themes and how could you mix them so well? I noticed that the majority of people in Japan know the fundamental principles of the family as a group. But many consider it one of the smallest groups in society, compared to a school group for example. So I decided that the main protagonist will not belong. a classic family ensemble and will not integrate into a usual student spirit.

Finally, a small challenge. If “New Group” occurred in Switzerland, in our Alps with our cows. What would be history and the human form filmed? One day, a 4 -legged man in a large pasture. He moves and eats grass suddenly like a cow. The number of people changing thus, would increase day by day. Conversely, cows are starting to walk on 2 legs like humans, adopting a behavior close to human beings. Finally, a family of cows gathers around shimotsu yuta: “i inspired what a dining table erected with meat and a blood -based drink …