By Donican Lam,
Myanmar-born singer-actor Win Morisaki was exuberant after winning the top prize Monday at one of Asia's biggest short film festivals for a musical short depicting Japan's oft-forgotten elderly population.
"I never thought I would receive (such a) prize, so I am genuinely extremely happy. I am truly overwhelmed with surprise and my heart is full," the 33-year-old entertainer said in an exclusive interview with Kyodo News after the win.
"Sen," Morisaki's directorial debut, received the George Lucas Award, also known as the Grand Prix award, at this year's Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, which concluded its two-week run of screenings at venues across Tokyo.
The roughly 25-minute short follows an elderly Japanese woman living a simple life in the countryside, as the world and its various struggles swirl around her.
Morisaki said being raised in Myanmar by his grandmother inspired him to make a film portraying life from the perspective of an elderly woman.
"Initially, the message wasn't particularly focused on the issue of an aging society but rather on how little our everyday lives change despite various battles happening right next to us," Morisaki said.
"By making the grandmother the protagonist, the story ended up conveying a much broader range of messages than I originally intended," he added.
Morisaki, who was born in Myanmar and moved to Japan at the age of 9, struggled at first with the language barrier and faced bullying. His parents and others helped him to overcome the challenges of living in a new country.
Since being scouted in the second year of junior high school, Morisaki has been active as an actor and singer, performing on stage in musicals. It was this diverse range of experiences that made him eager to turn "Sen" into a musical.
"A musical doesn't have to involve dancing on the hood of a car on the highway. I wanted to prove that anything can be a musical," Morisaki said, adding he felt there should be more musicals originating from Japan.
Morisaki, who made his Hollywood debut playing the role of Daito in Steven Spielberg's 2018 movie "Ready Player One," said that despite it being easier for different races to be cast in American films nowadays, he is currently focusing on appearing in more Asian movies.
"Going to Hollywood is seen as reaching the top of the entertainment industry, but being at the top isn't the only thing that matters. I want to take more pride in being part of Asia," said Morisaki.
Online screenings of "Sen" and other festival award winners, along with a selection of other films, are slated to last through June 30.
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