"I can see that the door of the Chinese film industry is now wide open," says Japanese film director Yojiro Takita as he sits on a sofa in a Beijing hotel.

After attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Film and TV Week at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the city on May 16, he spent a few minutes discussing the vitality of China's movie industry.

"I'm becoming more and more attracted to the history and charm of China," Takita says in the interview.

His film Departures, which tells a story of a young embalmer, earned Takita an Academy Award for best foreign language film in 2009.

Talking about his choice of subject matter for the film, Takita says despite many practicing embalming in Japan, it is still a profession that remains distant to the general public.

"This profession is so close to death and yet also very far away. I was attracted by its sense of mystery," he says.

The award helped to boost his career and garnered him many job offers from around the world, including China.

Takita says: "The award recognized my investment in film production. It encouraged me to believe that no matter how minor the theme is, I can still convey my thoughts to the world by shooting and producing a film with a serious attitude."

Last November, Takita finished filming his first Chinese production, Silence of Smoke, in Yunnan province.

Adapted from a novella by Chinese writer Xin You, the film tells the story of a family that has been making cakes for eight generations and explores the theme of continuing traditions.

Takita enjoyed being involved in the scriptwriting process and the freedom it offered.

"The Chinese film industry is developing rapidly and the local film market is expanding quickly as well," he says. "But there are always things in the world that are worth taking the time to examine more closely, such as the topic discussed in Silence of Smoke," he says. "I want to convey the emotions that lie deep within people's hearts."

Takita also applauds the film's three main actors, Zhang Guoli, Han Geng and Xu Qing, who he became friends with during their many discussions over the course of the shoot.

"I'm glad that we exchanged ideas frankly as people from different countries. Together, we built up a great chemistry," Takita says.

Takita says although the working practices in the Chinese and Japanese film industries are different, having a Japanese director oversee a Chinese production was useful to both sides.

"If Japanese films attract Chinese audiences with their delicate storytelling and rich sentimental color, then the Chinese ones attract Japanese audiences with their cultural affinity, the mystery of the country and the strength of their productions," he says. "The two industries coming together is like a marriage."