Short film ‘Kiku’ helps discover the vibrant, exciting side of ageing

‘Kiku’ is an intergenerational short dance film that takes us on journeys of ageing by six remarkable women over 50. The film is directed by alumna of ANU School of Art & Design, Natsuko Yonezawa, and encourages everyone to approach the topic of ageing with an open heart and mind.

“This film provides the opportunity for older people to share their journeys and experiences of ageing. Ageing can be a challenging topic to talk about because it can pose negative connotations of declining health and diminished beauty. But working with the six dancers, I discovered a vibrant, exciting, and buoyant side of ageing,” Natsuko said.

“I found the experience of collaborating with the dancers powerful and had the strong desire to communicate ageing through a more open and broader lens, encouraging the audience to listen and view ageing differently.”

Natsuko is an emerging Japanese-Australian Director of live performance-based in Ngunnawal Country (Canberra). In 2019, she directed, produced, and co-choreographed her first live performance work 'The Hikikomori' which was a dance, spoken word and multimedia production, which premiered at the 2019 Art Not Apart Festival. In 2020, Natsuko was commissioned by Belconnen Arts Centre to direct 'Mess', a physical theatre and dance work with an original soundscape.

She will soon be attending Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, to study for a Master's in Performance: Design and Practice to further her directing and interdisciplinary practice.

In ‘Kiku’, Natsuko is accompanied by an original choral soundtrack by composer Rebecca Hilliard, sung by the members of the ANU Chamber Choir and the Luminescence Children’s Choir.

“My experience with ‘Kiku’ has been eye-opening. For ‘Kiku’, I tried to venture into a new harmonic language for me to create Natsuko’s vision. Meeting and working with the dancers has been a highlight of this experience and I am very grateful for them sharing their wisdom and joy with me throughout the process. I am also of course extremely grateful to my friends at the ANU Chamber Choir who worked very hard to bring my notes on a page to life,” Rebecca said.

The dancers include former ANU students Jane Ingall (BA Anthropology 1986), Sure Andrews (Bachelor of Science and PhD Studies in 2008), Julie Rickwood and Sazannah Salojarvi (completed BA in 1991).

The film will be premiered on 11 August at Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). You can book your tickets here.