Completing screening event of new movie "Survival Family"

The completion screening event of new movie "Survival Family" was held on 16 January which was attended by the director Yaguchi Shinobu and cast members Kohinata Fumio, Fukatsu Eri, Izumisawa Yuki and Aoi Wakana. The movie which is based on an original script by the director, describes how the Suzuki family cope with a massive blackout in the world where they have to live without the necessities and luxuries in the modern world such as TV, fridge, smartphone, computer, train, car, gas and water supply. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 11 February.

When asked to reflect on the filming which took place during the midst of winter two years ago, Kohinata who plays the head of the family, remarked that they were literally a dirty family in the film since they could not shower. Aoi echoed his view and said that she was really embarrassed to be appearing in such a stage. During the two-and-a-half months filming from September 2015, most of the scenes were done outdoors with hardly any CG used. As for Fukatsu, she commented that there were times when they felt so weak like a candle light in the wind but they managed to pull together and got newfound energy to cope with the tough filming. Izumisawa related that there was a scene where they had to eat cat canned food where the contents were replaced with something else. However, the director asked him to eat one more can which had the real thing and even reassured him that it was fine to do so. After the filming, Fukatsu had a taste of the food and said that it was edible although it was slightly salty. Upon hearing this, the director said that she is most likely able to survive if the situation in the movie does happen in real life because she is so tough and able to eat anything to keep on living.

Kohinata then related that he is scared of bugs but was forced to eat the larva of the swallowtail in one scene which he already thought was horrible. However, the worst was yet to come as he felt like he was about to die when he had to get into the freezing Tenryu River on 29 November. As he couldn't hold it in anymore, he had to ease himself in the river and immediately felt warmer after that. Upon hearing this, the audience burst into laughter but his co-stars all tried to ignore him when he asked if they would do the same thing in this situation.

When asked about other tough scenes like the one in the river, Fukatsu revealed how the family had to keep running after a 100-kg pig and she wondered at one stage why she was doing such a tiring thing. Kohinata was thrown off the pig's bag when he was riding it and hurt his back so badly that it was hurting so much when he was sneezing that night.

Sources: Sanspo / Eiga.com