Sakumi Hagiwara

Lately, I cannot help thinking; “What if the gods created life and death by mistake?” I find it odd that as I age, my body withers. If, as I slip into old age, my heart becomes young, then it would be appropriate if my body could follow suit. Wouldn’t it be nice if humans were born elderly, and in reverse, died of old age in an infant’s body?. (Hagiwara Sakumi)

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The newest work in a series of works employing 16mm film to exchange correspondence between the two filmmakers Nobuhiro Kawanaka and Sakumi Hagiwara. The principal theme of the series, begun in 1979, was "the landscape of memory", and the theme of this film is "travel". The thoughts of the two filmmakers intersect as Nobuhiro Kawanaka presents a return to the past through "time travel" and Sakumi Hagiwara uses a narrative method to portray "the destination of travel". (Kurzfilmtage - International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)

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Lacking a coherent plot, We're All Riding on a Circus Elephant depicts the collapse of western civilization as a free-form collage advocating group anarchy and actor improvisation. The stage is a boxing ring. Those actors who are "onstage" get into the boxing ring and assault each other with words. Others heckle and cheer at the sidelines, or act as a rhythm-and-blues chorus while changing costumes or wigs. Taking as its coda Andy Warhol's dictum that everyone gets fifteen minutes of fame, actor transformations depict the Breakdown of Japanese values and selfhood due to an obsession with popular American culture.

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The first installment in the "Video Letters" series, in which two artists exchange images. The story unfolds as each artist incorporates the other's images into their own, like nesting layers.

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A fixed camera photographs a fog shrouded landscape, at first totally white but then gradually revealed. The music is 'Japanified concrete'

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The documentary to find the "true Shuji Terayama".

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Video began as a medium that inspired discovery. This art documentary traces the expressive roots of “media art” in Japan — works of video, performances, and installations created using video technology that allowed for free and creative visual expression.

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A strong-willed young prostitute, her mentally challenged brother, and her aging prostitute mother attempt to survive in 1970s Osaka.

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Originally made for the 100 Feet Film Festival hosted by Image Forum. However, to test the limits, Terayama Shūji willfully made use of 3 projectors to project 300 feet of film at the same time.

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