“Hanagatami” and my memories of Obayashi Nobuhiko

On passed genius director Obayashi Nobuhiko

I got a call from a producer asking me if I still want to do photography work for Obayashi Nobuhiko movie “Hanagatami.” I was trying to get on a set of this movie for some time. It was already a week since the film started shooting.

I said yes, but with one condition- I want to document it freely. I already knew that Obayashi had cancer, so I was eager to document what could be the last movie of the last genuinely independent director in Japan. The…