Interview with Director, Hoku Uchiyama

South by Southwest in Austin, Texas has always been known for its cutting-edge short film programs, showcasing new and talented voices from all around the world. This year's Midnight Shorts program saw the debut of Whitch by Hoku Uchiyama. This week I got the chance to sit down with Uchiyama and discuss his latest film, the music videos he's made for artists like Katy Perry, and more!

Photo by Kelly King

Rua: "Hi Hoku! Thank you so much for joining us today, can we start with you introducing yourself?"

Hoku: "Hello, My name is Hoku Uchiyama, and I'm the writer-director of Whitch, amongst some other things. Whitch has been getting quite a lot of really great festival buzz, it premiered at South by Southwest and just screened at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles."

Rua: "Well first of all, congratulations! Is this your first time doing the festival circuit?"

Hoku: "I'd say it's my second time doing the festival circuit, and I am totally enjoying it. I had a film that I did festivals with years ago. It was a student film and it wasn't as tight as this one. I think this one is working a little better, and I'm thrilled! I mean, you know, it's like you're holding your breath for a long time to see if there's anyone on the receiving end who will respond to it, and I am absolutely ecstatic that thus far we've had a lot of people enjoy it!"

Rua: "That's incredible, you're really living the dream! Now the film is primarily a horror until the very end where it turns into sort of an absurdist comedy; so I'm wondering where you started. Did you begin with writing a horror or a comedy?"

Hoku: "It started with the juxtaposition of a Wiccan meeting a witch. I grew up in Northern California around a lot of people who call themselves witches, and when I was a kid I found that super confusing. Then I kind of learned that these aren't the kind of broom-riding malignant Satan worshippers, these are kind of more, I guess, neo-pagan, earth religion folks. I guess humor was the first instinct, but I think in order for that to be funny, it has to be scary. In order for the juxtaposition to be anything at all, you have to respect the danger of the witch. I remember talking to the lead actress, Rosemary who played Gladys the witch about some of those great Coen Brothers characters who can kind of spin on a dime between being quite funny and also quite threatening at the same time."

Rua: "And speaking of Rosemary Hochschild, I know she unfortunately past away in the past year so in the interest of celebrating her contribution to the film, is there anything you can tell us about her? What was it like working with her?"

Hoku: "Well, we had a ton of wonderful people working on this project, but I am convinced we would not have the success that we've had if Rosemary had not been a part of it. She was the last person we auditioned, and there are a lot more elderly women in Northern California who are willing to play this part than you may think. So we saw a lot of people, but a lot of them were quite... sweet. At the risk of sounding reductive, there's something about the way many women age, which tends to bring out this sweetness and kindness, at least in terms of vibe. But one of the things that was so exhilarating about what Rosemary brought to her audition was that she was quite scary, in addition to just being a fine, proper actor. I remember I was so excited because she was the cleanest fit for what we had written. After the audition I just wanted to double check that she had read everything about the brief, that it involves nudity and rubbing fake blood all over herself . And she said something like 'you know, this is not the most out there thing that I've done. I did a lot of avant-garde work in New York in the seventies, so I'm fine.'"

Rua: "That's amazing!"

Hoku: "Yeah, so we really lucked out with her. She came in with such an inherent comfort with what we were doing, she was an artist who was used to doing bold things her entire life. One of, if not the biggest joy of making the film was working with her, she was such an incredible actor. And probably the biggest sadness for me was that she died in August of 2024 so she never got to see the movie. I just really wish she could've seen it."

Photo by Kenneth F. Wales, Hoku Uchiyama

Rua: "She really is incredible in the film, you can see how much she throws herself into the project. I was wondering, what do you hope audiences get out of Whitch?

Hoku: "I made this movie for very practical reasons. I work a lot in commercials and music videos and I wanted to do something narrative. It's hard to even start discussions about doing narrative work if that's all you have on your reel. And so I made this not exclusively, but I made this specifically to do that. And I wrote down a bunch of ideas that were really sad or heavy and the idea was... if I'm going to take up some of people's time I just want them to have a good time. That was the goal, just the pleasure principle."

Rua: "On that note, you've done a few music videos for Katy Perry, right?"

Hoku: "Yes, yes I did! I co-direct a lot of my commercials and music videos with my good friend, Adam Bolt. We made two videos for her, one being Harleys in Hawaii which I'm incredibly proud of because I got to bring in a lot of Hawaiian culture. We also made a video for her song, Tucked, which to this day is the most risqué thing I've ever done."

Rua: "I mean, that's amazing! I'm curious, as a filmmaker what is your favorite movie?"

Hoku: "Edward Scissorhands. I saw it when I was a kid and it just rocked my world, so much so that I didn't like it. I lived in a very similar suburbia, and it wasn't until I got a little older and developed an emotional vocabulary that I realized, 'oh it's not that I don't like this, it's just too close to home.' For me that movie was the kind of foundational seed where my filmmaking personality grew from."

Rua: "I definitely know what you mean. I had a very similar experience with Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude which I now consider to be not only my favorite movie but the medicine that helped me through depression."

Hoku: "Yeah, same I feel like Edward Scissorhands saved my life."

Rua: "See, this is why I love movies!"

Photo by Victor Parra

Rua: "So just to wrap things up, can you tell our audiences where and when they'll be able to watch Whitch?"

Hoku: "So we're going to be doing festivals right up until Southby rolls around again. I'm not entirely sure when it'll be available online yet, definitely in 2026."

Rua: "I mean I'd love to see it on Shudder someday. Thank you so much for joining us today Hoku and best of luck with the film!"

Hoku: "Yeah, I loved talking with you, hopefully I'll run into you at another festival soon!"

We'd like to thank Hoku Uchiyama once again for appearing on our publication this week. All his directing work can be found on his website. Thank you for tuning into Cinemasters.net and remember to never stop watching!