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Thoughts from the set: Ninagawa Mika

Special program by Keiko Kusakabe

Ninagawa Mika: director

Ninagawa Mika began her film career in 2006 with the film Sakuran, written by Tanada Yuki. The film, set in the Yoshiwara district of the Edo period, tells the story of a young woman educated to become a high-ranking oiran. Although the plot is not particularly original, the film is striking for its rich and saturated colors and a well-defined directorial identity. Her best-known film will be the next Helter Skelter from 2012, based on a manga by Okazaki Kyōko. The protagonist is Lilico, an undisputed star of the fashion world. It is a criticism of the absurdity of a blind and empty search for beauty: the protagonist is only interested in her own body, as well as the industry in which she works. The film is a body horror with bright colors with important considerations on the transience of one's body and the transitory nature of beauty. The protagonists of these two films are united by the beauty that allows them to be at the peak of their careers. In this way, Ninagawa problematizes the objectification of women in contemporary Japanese society.

In 2019 she will try her hand at the film No Longer Human based on the life of the important Japanese writer Dazai Osamu, protagonist of a dissolute life that ended in suicide in 1948. In 2020 the TV series Follower, distributed by Netflix, will be released. This work is also set in the world of fashion with a particular focus on social networks and the role of photography, a theme dear to her. In this work the difficulties faced by the female characters are resolved by the sisterhood between them.

Her style made of bright colors and a strong visual impact is now an iconic trait of an internationally acclaimed director. However, this should not deceive us: Ninagawa Mika is a mature director who knows how to combine stylistic and visual research with depth of meaning.

Ninagawa Mika: photographer

Active in the field of cinema, Ninagawa Mika is also a photographer. Her works are often characterized by characteristic elements such as dynamic images, saturated colors and cherry blossoms. In an interview with Yuka Yamaji, another artist, she stated that her first works were homemade self-portraits in front of the mirror and caricatures of her favorite Barbies. According to the artist, the magic behind photography consists in producing images without imperfections and in seeing art as a tool to steal ephemeral moments of emotion and expression.

With the third wave of feminist movements in the 90s, Ninagawa became an icon of the Japanese “Girly” photography movement, a particular trend that encouraged millions of Japanese girls to document every moment of their routines with a camera. The photographer used the enormous visibility given to her by this movement to launch herself onto the international scene, until in 2000 she won the Kimura Ihei award.

Her first series of installations is called “Hearthly flowers, heavenly colors”, and is born from the idea that in the act of photographing the objects merge with the photographer and the photographer in turn merges with them. Thus, simple subjects such as a room complete a transformation that leads them to become spaces beyond three dimensions. Other exhibitions created by Ninagawa Mika are “Three rooms” and “Eternity in a moment”. Examples of public installations are “Dogo Art 2015” and “Lee Garden One”. The project “Embracing Lights” focuses on butterflies and is based on the idea that butterflies appear only when human activity is in harmony with the environment.

Among the main and most recurring elements in her photographs are flowers, in particular sakura, the cherry blossom symbol of Japan, considered a source of spiritual elevation.

Thoughts from the set: Ninagawa Mika

Autobiography

In 2023 Cue Press published the author's autobiography entitled “Becoming Ninagawa Mika”, translated by Corrado Cucchi, edited by Roberta Novielli and Francesco Vitucci, presented on the occasion of this special program.

Filmography

  • Sakuran – 2007 (111 minutes)
  • Helter Skelter – 2012 (127 minutes)
  • Diner – 2019 (117 minutes)
  • No Longer Human – Ningen shikkaku – 2019 (120 minutes)
  • xxxHOLiC – 2022 (110 minutes)

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