dance film and animation (11:14 minutes), 2021

Set inside the Autumn Strawberry (2021) multi-media installation, performers work with choreographer Lisa Gelley Martin and Cindy Mochizuki on a performance that work with the stories, connected to the history of berry farming by Japanese settler families in the pre-war era across the Fraser Valley. The performers who are all descendants of those connected to the Japanese Canadian berry farming industries, under the direction of Lisa performed in front of the camera repeating a score of gestures derived from the animations. These recorded sessions of movement draw upon inter-generational memory and embodied story-telling as the performers learn, improvise and connect once again to the lost stories.

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Director: Cindy Mochizuki

Choreography: Lisa Mariko Gelley
Cinematography and Editing: Milena Salazar
Sound Design: Nancy Tam
Lighting Design: James Proudfoot
Animation Editing: Candelario Andrade
Studio Assistance: Cherry Wen Wen Lu

Performance: Leslie Komori, Claire Cardoso, Raymond Nakamura, Naomi Shikaze, Jacob Willcott Noda, Patrick Noda, and Alana Noda.

Taiko: E. Kage
Shakuhachi: Takeo Yamashiro
Foley: Nancy Tam assisted by Cindy Kao
Violin: Molly Mackinnon
Accordion: Mishelle Cuttler
Narration: Cindy Mochizuki
Voices: James Long and Tamiko Noda

Documentation: Malumi Photography

Thank you to Cecily Nicholson, Alanna Edwards, Sammy Chien, Minoru Yamamoto, and the Surrey Art Gallery

This project was created with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council.