At Cannes, Japanese director Fukada says AI undermines the creative process
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Director Koji Fukada attends a press conference for the film "Nagi Notes" (Quelques jours a Nagi) in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Manon Cruz
By Hanna Rantala
CANNES, France, May 14 (Reuters) - Using artificial intelligence to "jump straight to the result" could mean art fails to achieve its purposes of self-expression and to deepen our understanding of the world, Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada said at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.
He said his new drama "Nagi Notes," set in rural Japan, which he is premiering at the festival, reflects on the human process of creating a sculpture.
"When AI is used to create an artwork or produce a video, you effectively skip over the process and jump straight to the result and, in doing so, we, who ought to be the ones expressing ourselves, lose sight of the very process in which we are to increase our understanding of the world," he said.
"Nagi Notes" stars Shizuka Ishibashi as Yuri, a Tokyo-based architect who travels to the western Japanese village of Nagi to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, Yoriko, played by Takako Matsu, to pose for a sculpture.
Yuri and Yoriko also connect with two young boys in the village, Keita (Kiyora Fujiwara) and Haruki (Waku Kawaguchi), and provide them with a safe haven for their blossoming feelings for one another.
Asked about the boys' relationship, Fukada said he felt there was an asymmetry in how audiences view homosexual relationships on screen versus heterosexual ones.
"I hope that in 10, 20 or 30 years' time or longer, when it's commonplace for characters of all sexual orientations to appear in dramas, that such questions will become obsolete."
Fukada's last feature, "Love on Trial," screened in the sidebar Cannes Premiere section in 2025.
He also presented his 2020 title "The Real Thing" in official selection at the cinema showcase, while his 2016 film "Harmonium" premiered in the secondary competition section Un Certain Regard, winning the Jury Prize.
"Nagi Notes" is one of 22 titles vying for the festival's top Palme d'Or prize, which will be handed out on May 23.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Writing by Miranda Murray; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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