It is extremely important to do whatever it takes to get your job done to the extent that you become a virtually shameless person — The creation of any work of art does not come so easily. There will be many obstacles along the way. Believe it or not, people consciously and subconsciously try to stop you from completing your project for a variety of reasons. Maybe someone will tell you to stop your childish dream. Maybe someone will tell you that you are not supposed to be filming in the area where you are. Maybe someone gets sick and cannot make it to your interview. When obstacles are in your way, it is very easy to be discouraged and maybe to quit. But whether you like it or not, obstacles both big and small will inevitably get in your way, and you have to persevere to the finish line.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Yujiro Seki.
Born and raised in Japan, Yujiro Seki discovered his passion for film-making when he was in high school. Through making his first feature film, Sokonashi Deka (The Enigmatic Detective), he became enamored with the imaginative possibilities of cinema and vowed to master the art through study in the United States. Despite the fact that starting a new life in a new country was a challenge in itself, Seki earned a BA in Film from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a short film, Sashimi Taco, for his senior, honors thesis. Following his graduation, Seki moved to Los Angeles to work as a director of the video department for Intermarket Design, and as a film instructor at Montecito Fine Arts College of Design. After attaining permanent U.S. residency, Seki began studying full time in the Cinematography program at UCLA Extension. Upon graduating from that program, he embarked on the journey of making his feature documentary project, Carving the Divine: Buddhist Sculptors of Japan. Carving the Divine has become the official selection for 30 film festivals, showing a total of 22 countries, and won awards at 13 festivals worldwide, such as winning the Best Director Award of a Foreign Language Documentary at World Cinema Milan and premiering at the famous Raindance Film Festival in London.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Growing up, I was always interested in stories, everything from children’s books, novels, comic books, drama, to movies. Back then I was particularly fascinated by silly and funny stories that made people laugh.
I am a son of a butsudan (Buddhist altar/furniture) maker. When I was little I was surrounded by Buddhist objects, including furniture, statues, incense, shrines, and so on. My father took me along with him to temples all the time, as some of his clients were Buddhist priests. I did not think anything of it at the time. It was just our family business. I was not interested in anything related to Buddhism or Buddhist art.
I never thought I would pursue a career in filmmaking until I got to high school and got really into theater and acting, and I never thought in a million years, that eventually I would make a documentary film about Buddhist sculptors of Japan.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I encountered the world of filmmaking in high school when I was heavily involved in Theater as an actor. One day, I saw high school seniors make a movie about young high school kids looking for marijuana. I was not impressed and thought to myself I could make something better, so I got together with my actor friends and directed my first narrative feature film, Sokonashi Deka (Enigmatic Detective). It was a very difficult journey to put a narrative movie together for the first time, but I fell in love with the process of making a story through a visual medium. It was like creating out of nothing. Making my first feature film when I was 18 drastically changed the course of my life. For better or worse, it made me dare to think I could come to the United States, become a filmmaker, and make movies that would inspire people. Ever since then I never looked back.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
When I do my videography work along with other production companies I always keep the idea of how to be courteous to other people in mind. Each company has a different purpose for recording an event. I believe we need to respect each other and let everyone have their turns. Most of the time, I live by this unwritten rule for videographers. But, when I was recording Carving the Divine, this rule went out of the window sometimes. There was an important once-in-a-lifetime ceremonial event that was crucial for tying the story of Carving the Divine together. There were a few established TV stations during the event and they were there to capture the ceremony for evening news. I mercilessly shot the event without thinking about if I was in their way or not, because in my mind, capturing the footage of the event was far more important than their recyclable evening news. At some point, this older man pulled me aside and said to me, “Who the hell do you think you are? Are you special or something?” I said, “Well, I was assigned by the priest to capture this exclusive moment of the temple.” It sounded like I was lying, but I wasn’t. I got special permission to shoot the event in the exclusive area. The thing that I was not informed about was that I had to get along with everyone! The older man said, “We’ve been filming your ass this whole time. We are TV stations. We need to shoot for the evening news! Let’s get along. Can’t we?” He looked very upset and walked away from me. I think it was a sad moment, because he was furious and looked like he wanted to start a fight with me. But, at the same time, I thought it was ironically funny because I was completely violating a Japanese moral code, which was to be courteous to other people. I was not courteous. I was selfish to the extreme. But, I believed in my project and did everything I could to capture the best possible footage. If I were not selfish I could not have gotten enough footage to tell a complete story. “Was I wrong or right?” To this day, this is one of the profound philosophical questions in my life.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
In 2021, during the pandemic, I had an opportunity to attend Raindance film festival to premiere my film Carving the Divine: https://raindance.org/carving-the-divine-at-raindance/
There I met many people, including celebrities, festival directors, producers, programmers, volunteers and so on. The Raindance founder, film producer Elliot Grove, was such a character. Despite his successful career, he was such a humble and kind-hearted person. When I arrived at the opening ceremony, he invited me to take photos with him at the red carpet event and taught me all the interesting poses for pictures that he invented over the years. I learned so much from him in a single night.
Also, I had the privilege of meeting the well-known actor Martin Freeman there. I politely approached him and gave him my business card and pitched him my film and asked him about his work. We had a nice conversation back and forth. Despite his status as one of the most famous actors in the world, he was warm, humble, and kind. He welcomed me to take pictures with him on the red carpet. I was very impressed with him for his way of being. No wonder he is successful. Not only is he a great actor, but he is also truly a wonderful people person.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I must say that the person that I’m the most grateful to ever since I came to the USA is Anthony Capitan whom I met in my university years. Ever since I met him, he challenged me to become the best version of myself. He was an instrumental contributor in the production of Carving the Divine and advised me and helped me craft a great story. He watched the film very carefully so many times and told me what was working and not working. He told me honestly if something was not good and praised me when something was good. It was a lot harder for me to get his endorsement than receive criticism. However, I needed that honesty. I needed someone who constantly challenged me to make the best possible movie. As an accomplished writer and storyteller, he was highly qualified to give me advice. When the film was selected at Raindance Film Festival he was thrilled and sent me this touching message.
“Like the artists he portrays in Carving the Divine, my good friend Yujiro Seki is an embodiment of dogged commitment to artistic vision. This project literally almost killed him, yet he persevered. When he finished the film, and set himself the goal of gaining acceptance into a top-tier film festival, I thought he was naive: there’s nothing “sexy” or “trendy” about this film, and he had zero connections. But today, four years after he shared this goal with me, Yujiro has built an incredible cult following and his film is being shown at London’s Raindance film festival, one of the top film festivals in the world. I’m so proud of my contribution to this film — He entrusted me with bringing out the best story possible in the brilliant threads and episodes he captured and edited over the course of several years. And together we delivered: The final product is a great piece of art … But the fact it’s now being recognized as such — that his filmmaking is finally getting the recognition it deserves — is purely a result of his otherworldly commitment. It’s inspiring. And I’m grateful to have witnessed it.”
Anthony Capitan — Story Editor
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there, — Rumi
I love this “Life Lesson Quote” because we are all the product of bias whether you like it or not. Since the day we were born, we were influenced by our families, friends, schools, religion/spirituality, media, entertainment, books and so on, on a subconscious level. That’s how we mostly develop our identity. Our values can be shared by people who have a similar background, but when we encounter those brought up differently, who hold very different values than we do, we may judge them and think we are right and they are wrong. However, this way of thinking creates division, misunderstanding, and often physical confrontation or violence. There are so many universal values we share as humans such as don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery and so on, but many of the things that we think we are right about change from place to place and time to time. So, my stance is that whatever we believe in this life, in the end, we are all the same. It is easy to be stuck in the right and wrong questions, but we all want to find happiness and tranquility in our lives. This Life Lesson Quote, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” reminds me that we really are all the same.
I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Well, I’m Asian, an underrepresented group of people, but in my opinion, it is more important to have a great story than if the people in the film fill up the quota of underrepresented groups of people. I do believe it’s a good idea to give more opportunities to the people who are historically underrepresented and didn’t get to appear on film and television but these days people focus on “diversity” so much and care so much less about the quality of work that they are producing. I feel in many cases, as long as we have a diversified group of people in film and television, the quality of work becomes secondary. While I’m all for equality, we must not forget about the fact that above all, the quality of work is more important than anything else, or whoever appears in film and television. I’m sorry if I didn’t answer your question in the way you wanted, but I do not have the answer you are looking for. I believe more in the quality of work than the diversity.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Apart from the documentary Carving the Divine, I do a YouTube TV series Carving the Divine TV. Carving the Divine TV is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism and the history of Buddhism, so that when viewers finally watch the documentary Carving the Divine, they will get the maximum value out of the documentary. At first, I started this “extra” activity as a part of the promotion, for audience building. But, as I worked on the show more and more, the quality of guests became more and more serious and the show’s contents have become even more educational, profound, and entertaining. Now, we have a vast library of structured and easy-to-understand videos about Buddhism and Buddhist art. I will continue to work on this series, not only to let the world know about Carving the Divine, but also to make a contribution to the entire community for easy-access educational materials.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
We independent filmmakers always have to struggle between vision and money. In my opinion, receiving a huge sum of investment does not automatically mean that it’s guaranteed to make a superior film. I have witnessed countless artists compromising their visions because they wanted to make their sponsors happy. Often, the sponsors try to force their visions on the filmmakers because they have money, and filmmakers need money to continue their projects. On the other hand, completely self-funded filmmakers without a lot of outside support are forced to be more creative to complete their projects. Often, they compensate for their lack of funds with time. These filmmakers, in the end, might take more time to finish their projects, but they make fewer compromises and remain true to their visions. Thus, these filmmakers succeed in telling the story that they want to tell. In a nutshell, independent filmmakers always struggle, and probably always will, to make their visions come true and create the movie that they truly want to make, whether they have a sponsor or are self-funded. I’m a filmmaker who took the self-funded path. That’s one of the reasons why it took so long to make my feature documentary film. However, I was free to explore my creative vision without compromise. This process allowed me to create a one-of-a-kind work that you cannot see anywhere else. This aspect of the work makes me most proud to say the least.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
# 1. “Don’t do it!” — Well, I’m kind of joking. It took us about 6 years to complete the production and post-production of my first documentary Carving the Divine. It took another 6 years of film festivals and social media for the promotion of it. I also exhausted all my soul, heart and financial resources, which were supposed to be saved up for my future. I always say to everyone who is interested in getting into the world of documentary filmmaking: “The documentary is easy to get into and difficult to get out.” What I mean by that is it sounds very cool that you get to work on a documentary that inspires people and makes a difference in the world. But, as you get into it and dig deep into it you will find out the process is not exactly how you envisioned. Even if you have a vision and script in mind, it is extremely challenging to control the outcome. In other words, it is very difficult to complete a documentary movie in general.
I believe there is an honor and dignity behind going against the mainstream cinema and creating a work of art that matters to the greater good. If you have the courage and commitment to pursue this path, I encourage you to follow through no matter what other people say. However, to have a successful journey, it is important to have strategies.
You need to have an unshakable passion and conviction for your subject. When things get really tough and maybe you consider quitting, your unshakable passion and conviction are the only forces to keep you on the right path. In our daily life, we hope to have an immediate financial reward for our labor. For example, if you work a 9 to 5 job, you get paid, you pay bills, and maybe do something fun. In the world of independent documentary filmmaking (especially if it is your personal project), there is no immediate reward for your labor. The only thing you see is your savings account going down and your credit card maxing out. Then, you wonder why you are doing all this.
People might make fun of you because you are asking for favors to support your project financially. Sometimes it is quite humiliating to go through this process. Thus, I believe if you did not have enough passion and conviction for your project you would not be able to complete it.
# 2. Your subject must be unique and interesting, and also has to be a subject you can excel at filming — This means you need to have special access to the subject. This should not be something that anyone can easily have access to shoot. This sounds like a very difficult thing to accomplish, but we are all coming from different backgrounds and different upbringings. So, if we contemplate enough, I believe we all can find a subject which is dear and invincibly unique to us. Your unique subject sets you apart from the rest of the filmmakers who make documentaries about popular or trendy subjects. While these subjects also have an important place in our society, I believe many of them are recyclable and will be forgotten after a while. In a nutshell, if you were to embark on this long, tedious, heartbreaking journey, why not go for something that blows people out of the water? I believe how far you push your uniqueness will ultimately determine the success or failure of your work. My documentary film Carving the Divine is a documentary film that offers a rare look into a 1400-year-old Buddhist woodcarving tradition and the practitioners struggling to preserve its legacy in a rapidly changing Japan. It is a one of a kind subject matter and content that cannot be replicated by others very easily.
# 3. It is extremely important to do whatever it takes to get your job done to the extent that you become a virtually shameless person — The creation of any work of art does not come so easily. There will be many obstacles along the way. Believe it or not, people consciously and subconsciously try to stop you from completing your project for a variety of reasons. Maybe someone will tell you to stop your childish dream. Maybe someone will tell you that you are not supposed to be filming in the area where you are. Maybe someone gets sick and cannot make it to your interview. When obstacles are in your way, it is very easy to be discouraged and maybe to quit. But whether you like it or not, obstacles both big and small will inevitably get in your way, and you have to persevere to the finish line.
#4. You cannot just be a director; you must be the jack of all trades — It would have been so much easier if I was just a director and I didn’t think of anything else other than making great work, but the reality is that I had to wear many different hats. At times, I was a cinematographer, editor, writer, producer, assistant director, assistant cameraman, and so on throughout my career. Of course, I aspired to be a director but soon I found out that to stand out from the people who all wanted to be a director, I had to be willing to take on any job in front of me. So, I did it all. All these experiences really helped me when I worked on my documentary Carving the Divine because since it’s virtually self-funded, I didn’t have the luxury to hire many people to do different jobs. I had to do as much as humanly possible to make the project happen. Had I not had all the skillsets under my belt, I would not have completed the documentary.
#5 As independent filmmakers, we must learn to market ourselves and our films through social media — In other words, we must build our own audience. We cannot expect distributors or other people to do it for us. The problem is, ironically, that the filmmaking world is not as simple as making a good film. There are so many of us who are making films nowadays, and the competition in the industry is fiercer than ever. It’s not uncommon for a first-tier film festival like Raindance to receive more than 10,000 film entries. How are you going to stand out? Do you think your film is so good they must notice that you exist? Have you thought about them actually checking out your social media network to see if you have an audience? What about when you want to collect funds from a crowdfunding campaign? Your audiences are the ones who contribute to your fundraising. If you don’t have your own audience, it’s hard to collect a substantial amount of money. What about distribution? Don’t you think your distributors care about if you have a big enough audience for the commercial potential of the film? What if you want to self-distribute your film? If you don’t have your audience, who are you going to sell your film to? I always thought about the film as my artistic expression, and the audience will magically appear if I make a good film. I had to learn the hard fact that marketing is as important if not more important than making a good film. Of course, if the film is bad, it won’t go that far; however, if the film is good, but no one knows about your film, it’s as bad as making a bad film. So, I had to learn social media marketing. I had to learn how to utilize social media platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and even LinkedIn to market myself and my film. It’s a lot of work!
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
Ever since I got together with my actor friends and directed my first narrative feature film, Sokonashi Deka (Enigmatic Detective) in high school, my vision has been to make a movie that inspires people. In other words, the film that I work on must be meaningful to me and meaningful to the world. So, my artistic vision is vital to propel the story forward, but ultimately the most important thing is whether my story would engage with my viewers in impactful and meaningful ways or not. So, my number one stakeholders are my viewers, and to provide a special experience to each individual viewer is the mission of my filmmaking. For example, when I worked on Carving the Divine, I didn’t want to make a documentary that would tell a story that would force people how to think and what to think according to my personal feelings or opinions about the subject matter. I wanted to challenge the audience to go through their own journey and have their own special experience of self-discovery. I am merely a guide on their journey taking their hands and guiding them from one place to another, but ultimately they need to “find” their own experience. For example, a painter told me that he personally identified with the apprentices and remembered learning his craft in art school. A monk came to realize that greater international recognition of Japanese Buddhism would lead to renewed recognition at home (Japan). A father praised the carvers’ discipline and work ethic and hoped that his children could exhibit the same qualities. One retired businessman and amateur stone sculptor told me that he was mesmerized by the process of the art and actually dreamed about carving that night. As a filmmaker, I am truly moved to hear distinctive experiences.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We are living in an age that almost completely dismisses the value of traditional art, the art of ancient wisdom. We are in a culture that does not respect the wisdom of our ancestors. We embrace anything new, but we disregard the old as the superstition of the past. In other words, we dismiss the importance of spirituality. People are suffering because, in human history, spirituality has been the foundation of life, the guide to connect with the unknown. There are many forms of spiritual traditions across different cultures. I don’t favor one form of spirituality over another. But, it is important to have a form of spirituality in life. Without it, we are lost, and many of us cannot live by logic and reason alone. But, being spiritual through prayer and meditation keeps our mind peaceful and more compassionate and caring about other people. So this hypothetical movement that I could start is very simple. I would encourage people to take their time to connect with their spiritual inner beings through prayers and meditation because whatever the problems we have in life, it’s our inside — not outside. When we truly understand the problem is within, we will be free from suffering in life. If I were to start a movement, this would be the kind of movement I would be interested in initiating.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
I would have to say it would be a great pleasure to have a private lunch with Mr. Warren Buffett, not because he is one of the wealthiest men in the world, but because my impression of him is that despite the fact that he is extremely wealthy it seems like his motivation to grow his business is not purely for greed. He seems like he really enjoys the process of investing in business more than accumulating wealth itself. As far as I know from different media publications he lives in a humble house and relatively lives a humble lifestyle. Well, I don’t know the truth about publications and media — maybe this is just the perception he wants to promote. But if he is truly the type of person who does not worship material wealth as a solution for everything, and if he is truly a person who really lives a relatively humble life and projects positive energy, I would like to know his secret: being wealthy yet humble and positive. And of course I want him to invest in my next film!
How can our readers further follow you online?
• Website: https://www.carvingthedivine.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Email list: https://www.carvingthedivine.com/landing-for-email-signup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarvingTheDivine/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carvingthedivine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarvingDivine
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/carvingthedivine
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2603627/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Yujiro Seki: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.