How do I load a VapourSynth script within an international filepath into VirtualDub2?

[SilSinn9801]

Hello, this is my first posting here on Doom9 and I seek some help regarding VirtualDub2 and VapourSynth:

I have a VapourSynth script file (with an English filename) stored inside a folder that has a Japanese name on it. That script essentially loads a PNG image (also with English filename), repeats it 60 times, then uses std.Expr to reduce its colors from 24-bit RGB precision (RGB888) to 12-bit RGB precision (RGB444) by integer-dividing all its pixel RGB values by 16, then multiplying by 17:

import vapoursynth as vs
import functools
core = vs.get_core()
# 24-bit RGB (RGB888)
baselogo = core.imwri.Read(filename="Team Shanghai Alice.png")*60
# Simulate 12-bit RGB (RGB444) by integer-dividing all RGB values by 16, then
# multiplying them by 17
rgb444logo = baselogo.std.Expr(expr=["x 16 /", "x 16 /", "x 16 /"])
rgb888logo = rgb444logo.std.Expr(expr=["x 17 *", "x 17 *", "x 17 *"])

rgb888logo.set_output()

When I load that VPY file into VirtualDub2, rather than getting the logo, I get error frames with the following error message:

Read: ImageMagick error: libimwri.dll: UnableToOpenBlob 'C:\Users\couga\Desk
top\�方Project\Team Shanghai Alice.png': No such file or directory @ erro
r/blob.c/OpenBlob/3094

Note that "æ�±æ–¹" above should have read instead "東方".

I thought both VirtualDub2 and VapourSynth were Unicode-aware (my reason I migrated from AviSynth to VapourSynth was the latter's purported support for UTF-8), but it seems that this is not the case here. And I am running VirtualDub2 normally (not via Locale Emulator or any other AppLocale-like app).

Any insight on this?

Please note that the script code above has worked for me on pure-ASCII filepaths – an example is a test video I had uploaded to my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NII8C-OueKc

Thankee!