PA MediaAn “inspiring” new thriller filmed in Scotland will explore how a young woman becomes “independent and strong”, the movie’s star has said.
Mitsuki Kimura – known professionally as Koki – stars in Tornado, written by John Maclean, which premiered at the start of the Glasgow Film Festival on Wednesday.
Held at the Glasgow Film Theatre, a number of the movie’s stars attended a red carpet event ahead of the premiere.
The film was shot in Scotland and features Koki’s titular character, Tornado, and her father, Fujin, who host a travelling Samurai show around the UK, only to cross paths with a gang of criminals.
PA MediaSpeaking ahead of the launch, Koki said she was “really excited” about the film premiere and told the PA news agency about her character’s role in the story.
She said: “My character is of mixed ethnicity of Japanese and Spanish, and she does a puppet show with her father Fujin (Takehiro Hira), and then she comes across the bad guys led by Sugarman (Tim Roth), and she finds her destiny completely changed when she does something very big – I can’t say because it’s a spoiler – but it’s really about her finding herself and becoming a really independent and strong woman, so it’s an inspiring story, I think.”
She added: “I think the film is special because first of all it’s a lot of different cultures mixed together, and secondly the landscape is absolutely beautiful, the cast members, and I think a lot of special moments all gathered into one special film.”
Co-star Tim Roth described his character, Sugarman, as a “bit of a troublemaker” trying to make a living, much like the rest of the characters portrayed in the film.
He said: “He’s a bit of a troublemaker, but it’s really about him making ends meet, and for everybody in the film.
“He’s also a bad parent, so he has that in common with Koki’s experience with her father, so a lot of it is about that, but it’s about a day of rampage brought about by Koki’s bit of thievery and how that pans out.”
The actor said he has a number of other works in the pipeline, including projects in Mexico, Italy and a “weird and fascinating” film he hopes to do with Timothy Spall.
Actor Rory McCann portrays a character named Kitten in the film and said he was glad to be back working in his native country.
PA MediaHe said: “I didn’t even need to read the script. I’ll jump through any hoops that John McCann wants, it’s been a pleasure.
“I haven’t worked in Scotland for about 10 years and I wish it was every year or every other year.
“I would rather get home after work or at the weekend, I would rather work in Scotland, I think, so I’m really chuffed to be here and it was a great experience.”
Writer and director Maclean, who describes the movie as an action-thriller, says he hopes the film will standout among others within the same genre.
He said: “It was built for audiences and built for cinema, shot on 35mm film.
“It’s glorious to look at on a larger screen, so it’s not television in any way.
“It’s an action film. I hope that action films aren’t just Marvel films – hopefully films like this can be seen as action films too.”
Asked about producing a film in Scotland, he said: “It went really well considering it was January and we were in Scotland in the hills.
“It was brutal, cold and weather beaten, but that just meant that the cast and crew became tighter and became like a family, so it was wonderful.”
This year marks Glasgow Film chief executive officer and Glasgow Film Festival director Allison Gardner’s last time running the annual event.
She said: “I think I’m leaving it in a really good place, so I’m delighted.
“There are great films, there’s something for everyone, and I guarantee you will see a film that will change your life.”
Glasgow Film Festival will run from now until March 9 and will welcome the likes of Jessica Lange, James McAvoy and Formula One champion Damon Hill to the city.
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