○TPG staff（TPG）：
Your project was selected for Tokyo Project Gathering (TPG) in 2009 and won the TPG award. How was TPG?
●Director Izuru Kumasaka（Kumasaka）：
It was really fun and very inspiring. When I travelled around the international film festivals with my previous film “Asyl: Park and Love Hotel”, I was so inspired by meeting people who I would have never been able to meet in my ordinary life. I’m very pleased to have that kind of experience at the TPG as well. The TPG’s networking reception and closing party were very functional as well. My project “Secrets on The Table” won the TPG Award, and we pointed out that as one sales point when we tried to sell our project to future business partners.
○TPG：
How was meetings at TPG?
●Kumasaka：
It was my first time to discuss about my project with people from overseas. Through this experience I could realize the importance of understanding what exactly I was looking for and how it would work out for both the client and me. Having meetings at TPG helped me to get this point by communicating with people who have different cultural backgrounds.
I got very insightful advices from oversea participants. Perhaps it was a common sense to many, but I learnt that there were several ways to sell projects overseas. For example, presenting a project that was already completed was one way which I knew, and the other was having discussions together from the development stage, which was popular in oversea markets.
○TPG：
Can you give any advice for prospective TPG participants?
●Kumasaka：
Well, I’m not in the position to make any advice, I think. But if I could say one thing, I think your passion is very important. You never know who you meet at TPG, and there is a numerous possibilities to be involved with those people at TPG. Your passion helps to concentrate and get ready for the possibilities you can imagine. It also helps you to be connected to various people and present your project well. Mr. Yuji Hiratai, my project producer, is a very passionate person, and I think winning the TPG Award could be a result of his enthusiasm.
○TPG：
Do you have any request on the way TPG should be organized?
●Kumasaka：
I’m very satisfied and happy with how you organize TPG. But if I could make any request to TPG, I would say that I hope TPG to run for long time in future. Also TPG staff should involve more with the discussions at TPG to help participants develop their projects better because I believe there are some people like me who are not used to do business with oversea participants. If you ask me how were meetings, it would help us start a conversation and enhance the possibility to get my project run, I think.
○TPG：
We truly appreciate your idea. We will certainly try to support the projects and attendees better. Thank you very much for your time today.
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Tokyo Project Gathering 2010 (TPG 2010) [International Co-production Market]
Dates: Oct.25-28 (Mon-Thu) 9AM-6PM
Venue: Roppongi Academy Hills 40F, Tokyo
For the TPG visitor registration, please proceed from here
