Korean director Kim Bora (House of Hummingbird) and Japanese actress Ai Hashimoto discussed mortality, filmmaking, and the importance of human connection in a world in the grip of a pandemic, at the first Asia Lounge session at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on Nov. 1.

The talk was hosted by director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), who proposed and organized the initiative to bring Asian film folk together to discuss their craft. Due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, Kim joined the event via online link from Korea, while Hashimoto and Kore-eda appeared on stage in front of a small audience.

Kim spoke of ...