Live action (13:38 minutes) , 2019

雪 / Snow (2019) is part of a larger installation project, Cave to Dream (2019), which uses portals as a metaphor for exploring story and ritual. 雪 / Snow takes place on the last day of a calendar year, following a family as they carefully put together a meal to greet the Namahage demon. In Japanese folklore from the Akita-ken regions, the Namahage demon is said to show up at homes to measure how family members have spent the past year of their life. The demon deciphers who has been bad or good, while also ensuring that family structures are working and sound. In order to confuse the demon, sake and delicious food is presented to trick them and send them on their way — making clear for a new beginning.

Click here to see full Cave to Dream installation

Cinematography: Milena Salazar
Sound Design: Antoine Bédard
Editing: Candelario Andrade
Production Assistant: Cherry Wen Wen Lu
Script Advisor: Hiromi Goto
Costume Design: Leah Weinstein
Sound Engineer: Alex Shamku
Site Assistant: Yuko Federau
Camera Assistant: Joella Cabalu
Percussionist: Kage
Performers: Julia Aoki, Saya de Couto-Hoffman, June Fukumura, Manami Hara, Donna Soares, Oomi Sugawara, Junko Takashima Lexi Vajda, and Sophia Wolfe.

This film was produced with funding assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council