Mizuko
14 min, 45 sec | Japanese | Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo
Mizuko, otherwise known as Water Child, restructures the conversation surrounding the heated topic of abortion. Directors Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo set out to redirect the focus onto the countless untold stories of the women who have endured this trauma. In a symbiosis of two different mediums of storytelling, the directors craft a portrait of the whirlwind of emotions that race through the mind of a woman coping with her abortion. Experimental footage retracing the steps of this woman as she navigates her way through New York City acts as a poignant symbol for the overwhelming mental labyrinth that is a traumatic experience.
To complement these meditations, watercolor animations and a Japanese voiceover narration detail the holistic experience of life under the Buddhist belief system. As one narrator details the personal confusion of torrentous thoughts, the other describes the Buddhist vision of life beyond a physical being. This is where Mizuko takes place, at a crossroad of uncertainty composed of agency and spirituality.
- Zach Cavor
