Short of the Week: Experimental animation by Yoriko Mizushiri
Japanese animation has continued to evolve through the years, garnering a global audience in the process. While big-budget productions often end up getting the most attention in discourse about anime, there are many experimental filmmakers like Yoriko Mizushiri who work in relative obscurity but contribute to the art form in fascinating ways.
Mizushiri has worked on various projects such as Enyogu and sushi, in addition to directing music videos. Recently, the filmmaker’s latest project Anxious Body was finally released in collaboration with France-based Miyu Productions and was selected for a screening at the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival.
For this edition of Short of the Week, we have chosen her 2012 short Futon which is the perfect representation of her talents as one of the most exciting animators around. Through her art, Mizushiri plays with visual perception and physical forms while launching a powerful meditation about existence and everyday objects.
In an interview, the director explained that Futon was actually produced during the conceptualisation process of a piece called Health where she was exploring the possibilities of “the touch you feel through the animation”. Mizushiri definitely succeeded since Futon is a warm cinematic experience that is incredibly sensual and has erotic subtext.
Unsure about translating the rigidity of the human body, Mizushiri’s vision of our physicality is extremely fluid. She explained: “With body parts, I can concentrate on the movement of each part. I try not to draw faces and eyes to eliminate the feelings, since ‘feelings’ are not important for my work. The ‘touch’ is the most important thing for my animated work.”
Adding, “To feel the touch, you have to have a healthy body. So I titled ‘Health’. First of all, I chose the motifs such as body parts, cake, sushi, coffee and started to think about the idea of the movements. Then the motif of ‘Futon’ came up in my mind since it is related to sleep and health, also its lips-like shape has an advantage for me. Therefore, I decided to use a ‘Futon’ to connect all the fragments of the animations.”
Watch the short film below.
