His earlier film “One Cut of the Dead” had a budget of 3 million yen ($28,000) but has won awards in the U.S., Europe and Japan. He frequently works on a shoestring budget. In addition to directing, Ueda also writes the screenplays for his films and edits them himself. Ueda, wearing a “Citizen Kane” T-shirt for the interview, said his influences include works by Billy Wilder, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Sidney Lumet. That helped me develop the knack for pursuing works enjoyed by everyone in the world, works that deal with universal themes and primordial desires,” he said. The works I watched were all made on a global standard, not something just understood in Japan. I’ve watched more Americans movies than Japanese movies. Ueda’s style incorporates slapstick comedy and focuses on visual, rather than explanatory verbal storytelling, an approach relatively rare in contemporary Japanese film. One sequence and the credit roll feature some of the more than 300 people from around the world who sent in video clips of their smiling and dancing, responding to a social media request. Yet the work communicates a powerful, moving message about creative people coming together, despite obstacles, and their unwavering devotion to filmmaking. What results is a defiantly hilarious concoction of unsteady selfies, obvious edits and formulaic storytelling. The plot centers around a cast and crew shooting a short movie about a mystery intruder who attacks by tickling victims so they can’t stop laughing. It’s something Ueda said he was feeling himself. The backdrop for “One Cut of the Dead Mission: Remote” is the hopelessness artists, performers, musicians and filmmakers are feeling these days, when social distancing restrictions make it extremely hard to pursue their usual work and livelihood. I sensed a mission of sorts that I have to make this work now,” Ueda said. “Watching entertainment has saved me, helped me cope often when I was depressed.

“All of Japan, the entire world, is feeling a bit stressed out over the fears about the coronavirus, and so I just had a simple wish to cheer people up a bit through light-hearted entertainment,” Ueda, 36, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that fittingly took place by Zoom.

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