Directing
Utako Koguchi
Tokyo, Japan
Born in Tokyo. Studied theater in the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences at Waseda University, and began making 8mm films. Has worked as a dance instructor, editor, film publicist, film crew member, and art school assistant, and develops visual art performances and sessions that transcend genres. Major works include The Rain (selected for the 1982 Pia FilmFestival), O-de-ka-ke Diary (Grand Prize at the 1989 Image ForumFestival), The Sleeping Flower (Special Jury Prize at the 1991 Image ForumFestival), and A Dandelion (Rosaceae) (1990 Ebiten golden director). Active in nurturing young talent as coordinator of arts events and workshops, and teaches at universities including Musashino Art University, Tama Art University, and at the Art and Architecture School of Waseda University.
Acting credits
8.0Collective experimental film by Team 8mm TENGOKU.
Lost Way
2011
6.0Using stop-motion animation, what Koguchi called 無理矢理アニメ (forced animation), twin sisters Lulu and Lala go through enchanting bodily transformations. The film is a playful and disorienting exploration of sexuality, gender ambiguity, and the chaos of desire, made in the shadow of the AIDS crisis.
A Dandelion, Rosaceae
1990
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O-DE-KA-KE Diary Part 2 - The Home of Grass
1993
NRAn intimate portrait of Koguchi's grandmother and a tender, oblique meditation on mortality through performance, this film won the Special Jury Prize at Image Forum Festival in 1992.
The Sleeping Flower
1991
6.0Shot on 8mm with a handheld camera, Koguchi performs as a wandering figure who traverses the urban and natural landscapes of Tokyo. A diary-film in which the distance between filmmaker, performer, and subject collapses entirely, this film won Koguchi the Grand Prize at Image Forum Festival in 1989.
O-DE-KA-KE Diary
1989
Behind the camera
6.0Using stop-motion animation, what Koguchi called 無理矢理アニメ (forced animation), twin sisters Lulu and Lala go through enchanting bodily transformations. The film is a playful and disorienting exploration of sexuality, gender ambiguity, and the chaos of desire, made in the shadow of the AIDS crisis.
A Dandelion, Rosaceae
1990
8.0Experimental short by Utako Koguchi.
Axolotl Wooper Looper’s Lair
1987
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O-DE-KA-KE Diary Part 2 - The Home of Grass
1993
NRAn intimate portrait of Koguchi's grandmother and a tender, oblique meditation on mortality through performance, this film won the Special Jury Prize at Image Forum Festival in 1992.
The Sleeping Flower
1991
6.0Shot on 8mm with a handheld camera, Koguchi performs as a wandering figure who traverses the urban and natural landscapes of Tokyo. A diary-film in which the distance between filmmaker, performer, and subject collapses entirely, this film won Koguchi the Grand Prize at Image Forum Festival in 1989.
O-DE-KA-KE Diary
1989
No synopsis available yet.
Etude of Szerny and Burgüller
1982
NRNo synopsis available yet.
The Rain
1981
Experimental short by Utako Koguchi.
Utako Koguchi's "Petit-Cam" Diary
1994
No synopsis available yet.
A Melancholy Girl
1982