DOTMOV FESTIVAL 2011

HAPPENING

Screening start from November 2011 throughout 2012 around the world.

DOTMOV is a digital film festival organized by online magazine “SHIFT”, aiming to discover unknown talented creators and provide an opportunity to show their works. We had a total of 208 works from 18 countries this year, and an excellent 11 works among them were selected by guest judges. All the selected works are also presented on the website.
This year’s festival will take place in several cities in Japan and overseas from November 2011 throughout 2012.

DOTMOV FESTIVAL 2011

SCHEDULE

11/01 – 12/03__Sapporo, CAI02
11/08 – 11/10__Sapporo, ATTIC
11/16 – 12/16__Sendai, TRUNK
11/16 – 12/08__Tokyo, TOKYO CULTUART by BEAMS
01/16 – 02/18__Shizuoka, CCC
11/01 – 11/13__Kyoto, Cafe Independants
11/09 – 11/23__Osaka, digmeout ART&DINER
11/21 – 11/26__Kobe, Kobe Design University
11/05 – 11/18__Kagawa, Tokiwa Art Gallery (Cinema Square 2011)
11/01 – 11/30__Fukuoka, Gallery Artlier
12/23 – 12/23__Fukuoka, konya-gallery
11/05 – 11/14__Hong Kong, Microwave Festival 2011
11/01 – 11/30__London, ICN Gallery Cafe
02/24 – 02/24__Stockholm, Villa Contemporary Art
11/05 – 11/26__New York, Zakka
12/01 – 01/31__Los Angeles, Norbertellen Gallery
12/10 – 12/10__Melbourne, Federation Square
01/18 – 02/12__Bahia (Brazil), Bahia Museum of Modern Art
12/02 – 12/04__Pune (India), Lumière Digitale Animation Festival
11/25 – 11/27__Bali, Bali Creative Festival 2011

SCREENING PROGRAM　



  • Tsuchinoko
    5’37” | Japan | 2011
    Dir: Rakudasan
    Music: Gaka
    Performers: Maimuima
    Photographer: Atsuhiro Shirahata
  • I nominate ‘Tsuchinoko’, because it’s expressive, fun, energetic, imaginative and playful.
    It’s the most memorable and engaging out of the selection due to its colourful character and personality.
    It’s very dynamic, especially in the exploration of narrative, pace and perspective…
    Selected and commented by Ian Anderson (TDR)
    　
    “This is a pen.” in the first chapter of the English textbook for Japanese junior high school students is one of the basic English sentences which Japanese learn in the early learning stage.
    A Japanese well-known comedy group once cracked a joke repeating this sentence and became popular nationally. We tend to remember the contents from the beginning of textbooks and start to forget the rest. If you don’t know what to eat at a new restaurant, always order the first dish from the menu. Because the first dish is usually the special or the recommendation from the restaurant.
    “Tsuchinoko” was listed first on the exhibition list of the DOTMOV festival. The contents of this work should not be criticized as an individual video work. The making of this video is very “human powered” and traced various visual representations (Japanese comics and Hollywood’s special effects) and physical expressions (theatrical performance and pantomime). Each expressions give us a déjà vu that we saw them before but not in a bad way. This work embodies the expression of current Japanese motion pictures. A couple years ago, a term “creative deconstruction” became famous in Japan. This phrase which includes both positive and negative meanings brought various misunderstandings. I think that “tsuchinoko” explains the meaning of the phrase briefly. “Tsuchinoko” is very “creative deconstruction” itself. Moreover, the music for this video by Gaka is magnificent.
    Selected and commented by Jiro Ohashi


  • Intro (M.T.A.I.)
    3’08” | Germay | 2010
    Dir: Katja Baumann
    Music: Arto Mwambé
  • I’m a huge fan of any artworks with simple ideas that are executed with extremely smart twists. This is one of them. I appreciate the fact that the footage is raw and honest, and it has a very well thought out choreography. Very inspiring!
    Selected and commented by Yoshi Sodeoka (c505)


  • Bug
    4’09” | Japan | 2011
    Dir & Sound: Takeshi Tsunehashi
  • The bug in question is a butterfly, a symbol of joy. The story is related to “The Butterfly Dream” by Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher, in which he becomes a butterfly and enjoys being one to the full. Waking up from the dream, still half asleep, he is confused about the reality; did the butterfly dream the dream of me or did I dream the butterfly dream?
    Watching a butterfly in a dream means meeting someone mysterious. The heroin meets someone exactly like herself, implied in the symmetric flutters, and spends a happy time with her during an entire day. It is a joyful dream with another self. It is confusing whether I am the butterfly or she is the butterfly, but they seem happy and relaxed.
    The frame rate of all the scenes was adjusted and looping scenes were connected, staging mystical scenes successfully. Although butterflies are repeatedly portrayed in one after another of the looping scenes, they fascinate us and catch our gaze as we watch the happy flapping of the wings.
    Selected and commented by Ki Young Park (Sugarcube)


  • Mirror in the Mirror
    4’44’ | Japan | 2011
    Dir: Kanji Matsuura (Studio KK)
    Music: Kazumi Kondo (Lowo=Tar=Voga)
    Actors: Quick (Ichigeki), Yuki Goda (Monochrome Circus)
  • What I liked best about Matsuura’s “Mirror In The Mirror” was the lack of effects or overt digital manipulation or compositing. That discipline, together with a simple (almost brutal in its simplicity) binary story structure made for a very poetic visual experience: a story moving forward? backward? or cycling between states?
    Matsuura’s attention to detail in costume, makeup, set- and sound-design was exquisite, right down to the gentle breeze tugging at edges of the soft cell.
    Selected and commented by David Linderman


  • Notebook Phase
    6’00 | Germany | 2011
    Dir & Sound: Philipp Artus
  • It is very hard to write a review about this video work. The several subjects related to notebook computers might express some kind of networks. The character with a face of a notebook computer and the object like a bouncing ball might indicate something important. This work makes me think whether there are subconscious meaning behind or I just think too much…
    To tell the truth, I don’t understand the concept and the meaning of the story. But I rather pay attention to the oddness in this video.
    The movement and sounds of the video make me feel that I am controlling them and I cannot stop watching them, even though this video work is unilateral, not bilateral.
    Moreover I am fond of the touches on the pictures which are not sophisticated and these low-resolution and simpleness add spice to the work.
    Selected and commented by Hideki Inaba


  • Brunch
    3’28” | Japan | 2011
    Dir: Yasushi Hori
  • In the film “Brunch”, Yasushi Hori, invents a quirky, surreal world, contained to a single location, where the viewer is rewarded by the subtle animation and the deference of the style to the story.
    The real appeal of this piece comes from the questions it asks, which reward the repeated viewing. It is a good reminder of the lasting power of good-old storytelling.
    Selected and commented by Jesus de Francisco (Motion Theory)

SUPPORTING MEDIA

[Help wanted] Inviting volunteer staff / pro bono for contribution and translation. Please e-mail to us.
MoMA STORE