Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival 2025, Renoir tells the story of an imaginative 11-year-old girl, her hospitalised father, and dissatisfied mother during their eventful summer of 1987 in Japan.
It was a pleasure working with director of photography Hideho Urata, with many emails exchanged about our thoughts on the story, lighting, palette and 80s Japanese cinema even before even commencing on the grade. I wrote to him:
“The setting in the 80s through an 11-year-old’s eyes makes it feel uncynical without hiding the everyday problems that people go through; there is almost a sense of mundane wonder with every new experience. It feels like I am experiencing through Fuki a peeling back of the curtain of the adult world with barely enough understanding that I am only just able to cope with it.”
With Urata-san’s beautiful cinematography, I had great images to work with from the start. He and DIT Yosuke Matsukura had created a monitoring LUT through multiple camera tests, which I rebuilt using my own tools for the grade to preview the original creative intent and make further refinements. I made subtle adjustments in contrast, warm hues and colour temperature that smoothed the images out toward an even more filmic profile, and auditioned it for Urata-san’s approval.
From this starting point, we worked on the film from beginning to end in multiple passes. It was pleasant to discover that we shared similar philosophies in working hard to make the image look natural, taking pains to hide the artifice of our crafts while making the image look beautiful. With my colorist eye scanning each detail of the frame, I found myself constantly asking Urata-san about his lighting decisions and approach to shooting. It was inspiring to hear his generous insights and his breadth of filmmaking knowledge, against the musical backdrop of our playlist that spanned 1980s J-Pop to classic enka.
Director Chie Hayakawa joined us at the polishing stage, which included finishing work like adding VHS and CRT effects for the TV shots. Her warm presence and love for cinema made the sessions a joy, and the perfect sendoff to the grade.
