BECAUSE WE ARE STRANGE CREATURES

Silver Spike
TitleBECAUSE WE ARE STRANGE CREATURES
BrandFILMS.DANCE / JACOB JONAS THE COMPANY
Product / ServiceCORPORATE IMAGE
CategoryA01. Direction
EntrantJACOB JONAS THE COMPANY California, USA
Idea Creation JACOB JONAS THE COMPANY California, USA
Idea Creation 2 TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD. Tokyo, JAPAN
Production TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD. Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Jo Motoyo TOKYO / TAIYO KIKAKU Director
Alex Doronin of Skillaz freelance Choreography
Daisuke Takahashi Trickers Choreography Assistant
RIKU - Trickers Choreography Assistant
Daisuke Takahashi Trickers Cast
Riku - Trickers Cast
Ayumu Matsuoka Trickers Cast
Corky - Trickers Cast
Fuju Honjo Trickers Cast
Taka Sakurai Trickers Cast
Patrick Watson Secret City Records Composer
Patrick Watson Secret City Records Vocal
Maya Kuroki freelance Vocal
Jo Motoyo TOKYO / TAIYO KIKAKU Lyrics
Patrick Watson Secret City Records Lyrics
Maya Kuroki freelance Lyrics
Liam O’Neill freelance Drums
Mariko Tsutsumi TAIYO KIKAKU Film Producer
Toshihiko Kizu CONNECTION Direction of Photography
Takuma Iwata freelance Steadicam Operator
Shingo Ito freelance 1st Camera Assistant
Aya Tabayashi freelance 2nd Camera Assistant
Sou Tony Naoi freelance DIT
Tamara Ishida freelance Offline Editor
Jun Hatano TAIYO KIKAKU Flame Artist
Yoshiyuki Nishida freelance Colorist
Yoko Miyake freelance Stylist
Miyabi Nara freelance Stylist Assistant
Chiaki Ueta TAIYO KIKAKU Production Manager
Kanna Naiki TAIYO KIKAKU Production Manager
Kuriko Nakaji TAIYO KIKAKU Production Manager
Jacob Jonas Jacob Jonas the Company Executive Producer
Jacob Jonas Jacob Jonas the Company Creative Director
Jill Wilson Jacob Jonas the Company Creative Producer
Emma Rosenzweig-Bock Jacob Jonas the Company Creative Producer
Tamara Ishida freelance Translator

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Because We Are Strange Creatures is one of a series of 15 dance films for the project Films.Dance, a global dance platform founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by LA dance company Jacob Jonas the Company. The project connects talented creators and dancers from different countries around the world to collaborate remotely on the creation of dance films. We, the TOKYO team, were paired with six highly-skilled Japanese dancers, including some at world champion level, known as Trickers.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

When starting the project, Asian Hate was intensifying in the US and internationally. I have lived in several different countries, and have, personally, felt Asian discrimination in each one. Yet, when discrimination was ever discussed, the conversation never once touched on the discrimination Asian people face. Though I’ve spent most of my life in Japan, my mother is Taiwanese and I speak Mandarin. Because of this, I have also always been aware of the discrimination of Asians towards other Asians. However, for a long time, I closed my eyes to this discrimination, so as not to notice it because I thought talking about these things was a kind of social taboo. The root of this issue is deep, complex and not easy to discuss. But, this film was the catalyst that made me realize that Asian Hate is an issue I want to continue discussing in the future.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction. Do not name the director.

I worked together with the dancers to create a film that confronted the issue of Asian Hate that was growing during the pandemic. It became clear that for them, who grew up in Japan’s mono-culture, Asian Hate was an elsewhere issue, completely unrelated to them. And, I was concerned about asking them to carry the weight of this issue which they hadn’t experienced. Needing to explore discrimination in a way that they could understand, I explained that I wanted to portray humans, as we try to live together as one, all the while struggling to comprehend, and suffering under, our own fates which were decided for us when we were born. I wrote my thoughts into lyrics, incorporating them as the musical element of the piece. It was exciting to be able to direct this film beyond the framework of a director’s role.

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