「海辺の彼女たち」監督インタビュー “Along the Sea” Director Interview

This is my translation of a story that originally appeared in The Big Issue Japan Issue 407.

I translated it as a volunteer so that it could be published in other International Network of Street Papers publications.

The original Japanese is on the left, and my translation is on the right.

失踪する海外からの技能実習生、過酷な現実 つらくても声さえ上げられない人の声を届けたい —『海辺の彼女たち（英題: Along the Sea）』 藤元 明緒 監督	The harsh reality of foreign technical interns that abscond I want to give a voice to those who cannot speak out, no matter how harsh the situation — Director of "Along the Sea" Akio Fujimoto
ある夜、技能実習生として来日した３人のベトナム人女性が、劣悪な職場から脱走を図った。ブローカーを頼りに、たどり着いたのは雪深い港町。非正規就労での生活が始まった矢先、そのうちの一人が体調を崩して倒れ、身分証がないまま病院へと向かったのだが――。	One night, three Vietnamese women who came to Japan to work as technical trainees escape from a horrible workplace. Relying on a broker, they arrive in a snowy port town. Just as they start their new lives as undocumented workers, one of them becomes ill and collapses. Even though she has no identification, she heads to the hospital...
前作『僕の帰る場所』で、難民申請中の在日ミャンマー人家族の暮らしをリアルに描き出した藤元明緒監督。続く本作『海辺の彼女たち』では、ベトナムから技能実習生として日本に来た若い女性たちの姿を取り上げている。	Director Akio Fujimoto's previous film, "Passage of Life," depicted the true story of a Burmese family seeking asylum in Japan. Returning to this theme, his most recent work, "Along the Sea," tells the story of young Vietnamese women who came to Japan as technical trainees.
制作のきっかけとなったのは、藤元監督が在日ミャンマー人である妻と一緒にミャンマー語で日本の情報を発信していたFacebookページだった。ある日、そこにミャンマー人技能実習生からのＳＯＳが届いた。	The work was inspired by a Facebook page where director Fujimoto and his Burmese wife shared information about Japan in Burmese. One day, an SOS came from Burmese technical trainees in Japan.
「残業代もなく朝から夜まで働かされていて、まわりの実習生はすでに逃げてしまったという話でした。僕らも初めてのことで、どう助けたらいいのかわからないうちに途中で連絡がとれなくなったんです」と藤元さん。何もできなかったという無力感が残り、実習先から逃げて非正規滞在になった人たちはどう暮らしているのか、と気にかかるようになったと話す。	"They stated that they are not paid for overtime and are forced to work from dawn to dusk, and that others had already escaped. We had never heard of this before, and as we tried to find out what to do, we lost all contact with them," Fujimoto says. They were left feeling powerless because they couldn't do anything. Fujimoto says they were concerned about how those people are living after fleeing their workplaces and becoming undocumented.
技能実習生として日本で働く人は、２０１９年末時点で約41万人。その半数以上がベトナム出身だ。一方、失踪者も増えており、19年は８７９６人にのぼる。技能実習制度の問題点は国内外から指摘されており、低賃金、暴力や長時間労働の強制、いわゆる「人身取引」が疑われるケースも報告されている。	In Japan, 410,000 people were working as technical trainees at the end of 2019. Vietnamese made up more than half of them. At the same time, the number of runaways is increasing, reaching 8,796 in 2019. Low wages, abuse, and forced long work hours have been raised as issues with the Technical Intern Training Program both in Japan and overseas. Suspected incidences of human trafficking have also been documented.
制作にあたって藤元監督は、ベトナム人支援団体のシェルターなどを訪れ、元技能実習生や失踪経験者に話を聞いた。外国から来て日本で暮らす難しさやストレスについては、妻の体験談も参考にした。	During the filming, Fujimoto visited a shelter set up by a Vietnamese support group. He listened to stories from former technical trainees and those who had fled their workplaces. He also used his wife's difficult and stressful experience of coming from abroad to live in Japan as a reference.
「ちゃんとした職場もあるのですが、自分では選ぶことができません。親から頼まれて家族を支えるために来た人、仲介業者への支払いで借金を抱えた人も多くいます。劣悪な職場でも帰国するわけにいかず、生きのびて稼がないといけない。最初は、なぜ失踪までして日本で働くのだろうと疑問に思っていたのですが、話を聞くうちに、そもそも本人に選択肢なんてあったのだろうかと感じました」	"There are good workplaces too, but you can't choose which one you work at. Many are pressured to work in Japan by their parents to support their families, or they are saddled with loans to pay brokers. Even if it is a bad workplace, they cannot simply return to their countries and must earn money to survive. At first, I was perplexed as to why they would go so far as to flee and continue to work in Japan. However, after hearing their experiences, I got the impression that they didn't have any other options."
技能実習生の過酷で切実な現実が描かれる本作だが、主人公と同じような人たちが世界中に存在していると藤元監督は話す。	Fujimoto says there are people in the world who live desperate and harsh lives as technical trainees, just like the main characters depicted in the film.
映画ではベトナム在住の俳優３人が元技能実習生役を演じているが、その一人クィン・ニューには、親から無理に技能実習に行かされた知人がいるという。また、フィン・トゥエ・アンは家族のために台湾に出稼ぎに行った姉と十数年会えておらず「私は姉と同じ状況を演じるのかもしれない」と撮影前に話していた。	The three actors who play the former undocumented workers in the film live in Vietnam. However, one of them, Quynh Nhu, knows someone who was forced to become a technical trainee by their parents. In addition, Huynh Tuyet Anh hasn't seen her older sister in over a decade because she went away to Taiwan to work to support her family. "I might be acting out the same situation my sister is in," she remarked before filming began.
「大枠の内容は脚本で決めていますが、現場での役者さんの感情や言葉を大事にして映画をつくるので、脚本が変わってしまうことはよくあります」。役者によるアドリブの場面も多く、そこから監督自身が気づかされることも多いという。	"The screenplay established the general framework for the content. However, because I make films that place a high value on the actors' emotions and words, there are many places where they diverge." Many scenes were improvised, and the filmmaker gained a lot from them.
特に、この映画のラストシーンは印象的で、いつまでも心に深い痕跡を残すものになるだろう。これも最初の脚本とはまったく違うものだ。	The film's final scene, in particular, is powerful and will leave an unforgettable mark on your mind. This, too, is a departure from the original screenplay.
「あの場面が彼女の姿を一番残せると感じたのです。つらくても声さえ上げられない人がいる。それはつまり誰にも存在が認識されないということ。その声なき声を届けられたらと思います」	"That scene, in my opinion, leaves the most lasting impression of the women's predicament. There are people who, no matter how dire their circumstances, are unable to speak out. In other words, no one recognizes their existence. I hope to make these silenced voices heard."
ふじもと・あきお 1988年生まれ、大阪府出身。日本に住むミャンマー人家族の物語を描いた長編初監督作品『僕の帰る場所』（’18）が第30回東京国際映画祭「アジアの未来」部門２冠など受賞を重ね、33の国際映画祭で上映。長編2本目となる今作は第68回サンセバスチャン国際映画祭の新人監督部門に選出。	Akio Fujimoto Born 1988 in Osaka. His first feature-length film "Passage of Life" ('18) showed the story of a Burmese family living in Japan. It has won many awards, including two awards in the Asian Future section at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival, and has been featured in 33 international film festivals. This film, his second feature-length work, was selected to appear in the New Directors competition at the 68th San Sebastián International Film Festival.