Good Morning Lovelies, 

A few weeks ago I was asked if I would like to interview the director of Raindance Film Festival’s chosen feature, Boys For Sale, Itako and of course I said yes! The film follows Japanese director Itako’s on a journey to discover the ins and outs of the sex trade in Tokyo. To find out everything he needed to know, he had to purchase time with the boys in the film and take them to a sex room to discuss their jobs and lives.

In our interview with Itako, we discuss what it was like to be at this year’s Raindance Film Festival, how he came to making the film and what he has coming up in the future…

Firstly, congratulations on being chosen for Raindance Film Festival! How does it feel?
As the largest festival of independent film in Europe, it is amazing to be selected for Raindance.  Although I have participated in Raindance twice before with films I directed, this was my first time to attend as a producer, and I had a great time!  For our director Itako and DOP/ producer Adrian "Uchujin" Storey, it was their first time to have a film at Raindance, so I was also really excited for them as well.  Our main screening was sold out days in advance and as a result, Raindance organized an additional screening which was just such an honour!

For those who may not know about Boys For Sale, please could you tell us what it is about?
"Boys for Sale" is set in Shinjuku-ni-chome, the gay district of Tokyo, and is about "Urisen", young guys who identity as straight but sell sex to male clients.  The documentary was filmed in the bars and sex rooms where the guys work and explores how they got into the work and about the job itself.

Where did the idea for the film come from?
About 10 years ago, a potential subject for a documentary I wanted to work on brought me to an Urisen bar for a drink.  It took me several minutes to realise what kind of bar it was, and then I was rather surprised to find out that most of the guys doing the work identified as straight.  That experience stuck with me and several years later when I met Adrian (our DOP/ producer) and we decided to work on a film together, I told him the story and we started doing research on whether we could make a film about Urisen bars.  It was later in the process that the director, Itako, was brought on.

What was it about the people who star in it that made you want to feature them?
Each of the guys had a unique story that really resonated with everyone on the team.  I am a firm believer that everyone has a story that they want to share, that they just want to be listened to.  Our team's approach was to listen, respectfully, and to create a space in which the guys could share whatever it was they wanted to talk about.

Is there a scene that you would like audiences to look out for? If so, why this one?
All of us were extremely shocked at the lack of training these guys received and about their general lack of knowledge regarding sexually transmitted diseases.  Emphasising that part of the story without it becoming preachy, all while fully maintaining its roots firmly in the narrative of the guys was a balance Itako really tried to achieve during the editing process.  It is a section of the film that so many viewers remark on, and as a team we are really glad that it works to highlight some of the underlying problems and dangers these guys face.

Finally, can you tell us what you are working on next or what we should look out for?
As most filmmakers, we are all working on multiple projects.  Itako is developing a fiction script, Adrian is working on a feature documentary about contemporary calligraphy from around the world entitled “Traces of the soul”, and I am currently in post-production for a documentary I directed about end-of-life care.