Three weeks
ago, the Olympia was welcoming the International Make Up-Artist Trade Show,
also known as IMATS, and on the big opening night was the premiere of a very
touching documentary called “Dream Out Loud”.
Directed by
Juliet Landau and Deverill Weekes, this short film tells the success story of
Kazuhiro Tsuji, a talented and widely recognized-among-his-pairs make-up
artist. To borrow Weekes’ words “This film is about excellence and about the
story between two men who connected through an art form.”
Kazuhiro
started his life in Japan and, as a kid, was living in a fish market. It all
started when he saw an article about the make-up artist Dick Smith and that
triggered his interest for professional make-up techniques. He started by
practicing on his own face and, later, on his fellow students friends’ faces.
The film
then goes a bit deeper in Kazu’s art and talent by revealing the struggles he
faced on the set of “Looper”. The challenge was to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt
and Bruce Willis look alike, the first playing a younger version of the second
in the movie. Kazuhiro worked on a lot of details to create similarities
between their faces. Gordon-Levitt said that his own mother had troubles
recognizing him. “At the end of the shooting, I was more used to that new
face than my own!”
Other than
his incredible talent, Kazu has an eye for detail and is a perfectionist,
always in search of the little subtle thing that will make a difference.
Kazu says
that he connected to Smith and that they understand each other through their
art. He also confesses that he is never 100% sure about his work and how well
it is executed. It is hard for him to gain self-confidence.
At the end
of the screening, after 20 fascinating and touching minutes cradled by the
music of
Subterraneans,
Dewerill came back on the stage and Kazu warmly thanked him. He added that, if
he agreed to that project, it is because he wanted to share that it is
important to know what you want to do with your life and to go for it.
This film
was amazingly sweet and very true. It shows that if you hold on to your dreams,
they can actually come true. A good reminder that you should never give up.
Miss
DiversiT
