- A raw ode to the miracle of fertility and its transience. The filmmaker followed the trail of the unconventional Dutch Japanese pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama who invited women (and men) to reflect upon this primal theme by means of an art project in Japan. They talk, sometimes for the first time, about children that were or were not born, about sexuality and choices they made. Their stories are interwoven with the music of Bach, sensually interpreted by the pianist, and lead to a Buddhist ritual for unborn children. The pianist and the filmmaker kept silent for a long time about their own deeper motivations. In the course of the creative process and the film, it becomes clear what drives them both, each from her own fate.—Anonymous
- Filmmaker Aliona van der Horst followed the trail of the unconventional Dutch-Japanese pianist and artist Tomoko Mukaiyama who made a huge work of art on the theme of womanhood and fertility. She created a cathedral-like space out of twelve thousand white silk dresses in which visitors, as in a ritual, roamed around and fell silent. And where people confessed intimate details about children who were or were not born, about sexuality and life-choices. This resulted in a majestic epic about motherhood, miscarriages and menopause. In a visual and poetic way, the film penetrates into what is probably still one of the greatest of taboos, menstruation, and, as a consequence, touches upon universal themes around life and death. DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Some aspects of life are hard to express in words.To touch the deep layers of feelings connected to issues of motherhood and loss and experiences of procreation and the sense of failure it can entail, you need to create something like music, a labyrinth or a ritual. Something that isn't only about speaking meaning, but explores other ways to express the deep and intense experiences in our lives. In this documentary, artist and pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama asks a group of Japanese women to participate in her art project exploring and meditating on the meaning of their monthly blood and the rhythm of their bodies. The women, sometimes for the first time in their lives, try to give words to their experiences, resulting in powerful testimonies about the connection between life and death, mortality and the power of life. Gradually, and unexpectedly, this film evolves into a collaboration between the artist and me. Why did I chose to make a film about such a sensitive and hard to grasp subject as "female fertility"? I am challenged by the Tomoko who asks me to participate in her project; confronting my own strong and mixed feelings towards being a woman without children of my own. Our conversation takes place in music and images. Art can deeplybe connected to life and is necessary to express what we often cannot speak about.
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