Venice 2025: Lost Land | Interview with Akio Fujimoto, Kazutaka Watanabe, and Sujauddin Karimuddin

You wouldn’t expect a journalist to be thrilled with an on-the-spot change in the interview guests like I was when I arrived to meet director Akio Fujimoto and his producer and translator Kazutaka Watanabe. But when the third addition is a coproducer and member of the Rogingya people who are depicted in a beautifully emotional, endearing and devastating Lost Land (Harà Watan) which premiered in the Orizzonti section of Venice Film Festival, I can only be grateful to be lucky enough to have such splendid interviewees. We spoke at length (which means for more than 15 minutes in the festival scheduling) about the Rohingya struggle and culture and how important it was to see themselves on film thanks to the interest of Fujimoto and the persistence of the production team.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: Your topic, the struggles of the Rohingya people, has been present for many decades, but it’s not that represented in the media. Why do you think is this struggle relevant to you as a Japanese director?

Akio Fujimoto: Since 2013, I was involved in the Burmese community I was familiar with the country and I knew the Rohingya people were there, but no one was talking about them. Even when in 2017 a huge massacre happened. During that time, I was in Myanmar working on a film project and I realised that none of the staff were talking about that. But they were in the same country and it was shocking to witness that happening.

Seeing this side of things, I thought, maybe as a filmmaker I can do something about that. Maybe I can lend a voice to the Rohingya people and the feeling grew and grew and became this film.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: And as the co-producer and a member of the Rohingya people, why is this film relevant to you?

Sujauddin Karimuddin: They say that the prosecution of the Rohingya people is amounting to a genocide and it is not a new phenomenon. It’s been happening for many, many, many years. In fact, for almost five decades now. One of the tragedies, upon the tragedy is that the Rohingya people are deprived of education systematically for generations and therefore they do not have neither the pen nor the voice to raise their issue. When Akio and Kazu came with the script to make, I thought this is one way of raising this issue through the film and to the international audience and that is actually happening.

Thank you too for seeing this film. Because people like yourself will be interested and have a chat and raise this ongoing issue and difficulties that we are facing. Bringing this issue to the attention of the international audience and hopefully find a way for all of us to go home.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: That’s such an important point that I never considered. When you don’t have education, don’t have a voice.

Sujauddin Karimuddin: No voice and no past.

Kazutaka Watanabe: Even though we feel that it’s relevant to tell the story in the format of the film, it doesn’t mean that it can happen easily, but we have to make an attempt. In the process of meeting Sujauddin and other Rohingya people, we collected their realities and real experiences.

And this process was proving that we need this. In the process if we felt like outsiders, that we couldn’t connect to the Rohingya people this film wouldn’t happen. So the process of making the film was also giving us the answer of how to go forward with this problem.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: My next question is connected to language because this is the first film ever in the Rohingya language. In what way do you feel that the language defines Rohingya as a community and why do you think the language was important in representing the Rohingya people?

Akio Fujimoto: In the past, the subject of the Rohingya people was always in the background. In fiction and in documentary. And in our film, we had around 200 people with extras who were all part of the Rohingya community. I felt in order to show their feelings and their voice; it was really important to bring the Rohingya people and tell the story together with them. And their language is very powerful in conveying emotions. Using their own language and words is really like proving to themselves that they exist. I feels that strongly and that’s why, naturally, I brought everyone into the film.

Kazutaka Watanabe:  And of course, we had to coordinate for these 200 people and their families to come to the production. None of them had on set experience before so we had to connect so many things and it was hard and maybe we gave a hard time to the people involved too. But thanks to their cooperation we could make this film.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: The next question connects to Sujauddin’s point. There is no voice, is no writing, but there still is a storytelling voice in your language.

Sujauddin Karimuddin: Yes, when I read it was going to be in Rohingya language the first time when I started working with the two great gentleman here, I was impressed. Because the people responsible for the genocide are constantly saying that there is no Rohingya people and they are trying to erase all the traces of Rohingya, including our language and our culture. There was a time in the 1990s, when singing Rohingya songs was forbidden.

In one way they have succeeded because 90% of the population is outside of the country now. However, what we want to do is we want to preserve the history and the language through this film as well. This film is not only telling the story, but it’s also preserving the importance of language and culture within the culture of storytelling, the culture of singing, the culture of nurturing each other, looking after each other.

In the film, complete strangers thake care of the three children and it is reality in our day-to-day life. Partly because of the persecution and also, we have a very affectionate culture, a very family-oriented culture. So all this is preserved within the film, I believe.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: The film is actually shifting between very intimate, shy family moments, and then a very rushed immigrant journey. Why did you think it was important to show moments that were high-paced and then at other moments that were very slow, meditative even?

Akio Fujimoto: When I think about the structure of film, of course, when you just talk about the story, it’s a love movie. If you’re just concerned about their passage, it’s a high-speed idea, that’s also one thing. But I also wanted to depict their personal time that they feel and the emotion, capturing their daily life.

Also, while shooting, I was observing the kids, the liveliness that they had and you can imagine them being Japanese but they are in a different kind of environment. If they weren’t going through this, they would be just normal kids. That’s why in the editing process; I brought in more frames and scenes that completed the film’s structure. I adjusted it in a way.

Maybe one symbolic thing that I can point out is when they were alone in the journey playing in the ruins, in the abandoned place it was a space where you don’t feel that they are on a journey. You don’t feel even the passage of time. So, I wanted to show just two of them just playing and focusing on the moment that you want to last forever.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: My next question is about different symbols and parts of culture you decided to include in the film. What, especially for Sujauddin, would you say are some symbols of your culture that you saw on screen that were really important for you? And perhaps as a director as well, what were some moments that also felt important to tell the story? 

Akio Fujimoto: Maybe this isn’t directly answering the question. There is an iconic, very important one, side of this story, the main the crop. We have a mango tree episode that actually doesn’t even appear in the film. The mango tree doesn’t appear in film, but we are always talking about the mango tree episode.

In the film, this mango tree appears in the haunted story. It’s a tree that even after the villagers burned it, the tree survived. So, it’s representing the spirit the memory that can’t be destroyed. We come back to it all the time. And it’s interesting that the mango tree doesn’t appear in the film. But everyone, including the audience, can imagine the mango tree. And I also hope that this imaginary mango tree would be a meeting point for everyone. So, it’s not only the story about the past, the film is also about the future.

Sujauddin Karimuddin: The tree is a symbol, culturally. When I was growing up we had to go get firewood from the forest and we used to go with our grandparents and sometimes our uncles. The tree is a very important part of our culture and we were told not to cut the entire tree but cut branches of the tree. Not to destroy the tree itself, but only use what we needed. Even for small buildings, we just cut branches of tree. The entire family would talk a lot about the tree and even the children would be playing, planting those seed, that is one of the very strong signs of the connection with the land and with the nature of the community.

Because the entire Rohingya community is a farming community, we are very grounded with the land. Even when you look at the name Wadan, Wadan is not only a land or native land. Tang means your body. Wadan is connected with land and body and soul. So I think that the movie has really depicted that relationship with land and nature. 

That is another reason as well for the Rohingya people when you ask them. Their ultimate goal is they want to go home. Even third, fourth generation who are refugees, even you ask them where are you from? They say I am from Arakand. And that’s where my homeland is.

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: I would like to end on the positive note. Tell me about your experience so far in Venice and how are you happy with your film being here?

Akio Fujimoto: Do you want like a happy answer or serious kind of answer?

Ramona Boban-Vlahović: Whatever feels true.

Akio Fujimoto: The last festival that we participated in was during COVID-19, so this is totally different. During last night’s premiere, we could really feel the energy of the film, the cinema, even the festival. And the people there reacted with huge, strong emotions and energy. That’s what film festivals are about. I felt like we need this energy and it encouraged us, the team, to proceed with showing the film around the world so that the audience can think about the story and learn about the Rohingya people.

Because they don’t have a passport, they cannot really travel around and participate in the screening. But maybe in the future, I already imagine them appearing in front of the building with applause. Yeah, that was what I was thinking.

Sujauddin Karimuddin: I mean there was a lot of mixed emotions, obviously. The first emotion was a lot of wild excitement and happiness and gratitude as well to be able to tell the story that is real and close to our hearts.

Secondly, the audience appreciated the effort and that’s who the movie is made for, for the audience. So, the message and that was really well received and really exciting, and I’m really happy about that.

As soon as I come into the theatre, the two empty seats really struck me as someone very close to them during the process filming. As well as this being a reality of most Rohingya people who don’t have the right paper to travel abroad. Although 90% of the population is outside their homeland, they still being treated in most places as illegal or refugees therefore they can’t still have access to education they can’t still have basic fundamental human needs or rights if you like.

And that really struck me. Among 200 people who worked in the film, I was the only one, very fortunately, who could be here. But also, unfortunately the only one who could arrive. And that emotion really gripped me in many ways. But, overall, it’s a very happy experience. And I’m very privileged and happy that I can represent the boys here today with you in this prestigious festival.

Kazutaka Watanabe:  Yeah, of course, the same as what they said. I agree on so many things because on film, especially on fiction film you can imagine how many people are involved and most of them are not here. But what I thought was that working on independent film like this, it’s one of those things that if you don’t try it will never happen.

Through our films we’re discovering the way to make things happen but we also need to survive and live of it. This was a team effort and the first time to experience energy of 1,500 people at the same time applauding and celebrating was really special. I can’t really describe it. It felt like this impossible attempt that we started and gathered people from different countries and nationalities all together. And that’s why here with have that atmosphere.

Yeah, it’s quite moving. And we’re happy and appreciate the festival.

Our team is on the ground in Italy to cover the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, running from 27 August to 6 September 2025.