Kimi Takesue

A solitary man struggles to cultivate beauty in a desolate urban world. Lonely and dislocated, he drifts in and out of a dream state envisioning the promise of regeneration. ROSEWATER tells a story of hope sustained through perseverance, ritual and, ultimately, revelation.

In 2032 an eight-year old boy, displaced by global warming, fends for himself as an environmental refugee in a hostile northern metropolis. Haunted by memories of flooding that left him homeless and orphaned, the boy forms an unexpected friendship with an Inuk ice carver who helps him confront his past.

Filmmaker Kimi Takesue captures the cadence of daily life for Grandpa Tom, a retired postal worker born to Japanese immigrants to Hawai’i in the 1910s. Amidst the solitude of his home routines — coupon clipping, rigging an improvised barbecue, lighting firecrackers on the New Year — we glimpse an unexpectedly rich inner life.

HEAVEN'S CROSSROAD traces an impressionistic journey through Vietnam exploring the nuances and complexities of “looking” cross-culturally. Structured in a series of observational yet stylized vignettes, this visually driven experimental documentary investigates shifting relationships of voyeurism and intimacy, which link the observer with the observed.

A young Chinese British woman undertakes a symbolic journey of self-discovery. Incorporating elements of poetry and dance within a dramatic narrative, Bound explores a woman’s attempt to reconcile the past with the present as she confronts the complexities of her cultural identity and memory.

Group tourism in Peru.

Why do we travel? What do we seek? ONLOOKERS offers a visually striking, immersive meditation on travel and tourism in Laos, reflecting on how we all live as observers. Traversing the country's dusty roads and tranquil rivers, we watch as elaborate painterly tableaus unfold, revealing the whimsical and at times disruptive interweaving of locals and foreigners in rest and play.

E=NYC2 captures the dynamic energy and movement of New York City. Structured in a series of observational vignettes, this piece features New Yorkers moving through self-contained, yet interconnected, worlds as they pursue their lives and dreams.

Shot in a series of formal tableaus, SUSPENDED playfully captures a diverse cross-section of people in states of emotional and physical suspension: moments of heightened anticipation, focused intensity, and blissful surrender.

A young girl who's bored with the normal happenings at a public pool becomes fascinated with a pair of improbable patrons who arrive.

A high society wedding, bustling city streets, a center for former child soldiers, a nightclub full of music and laughter: these are the many faces of today's Uganda, as wonderfully captured by filmmaker Kimi Takesue. Whether exploring the pulsating energy of the city or contemplating quiet moments in the country, her artful camera compositions and the lyrical pacing of the film allow us to truly engage and process the foreign land on our own terms. Documenting Uganda while it deals with day-to-day realities and the aftermath of its civil wars, Takesue, well aware of her perspective as an outsider, strives for simple, unadorned honesty. Employing a largely observational style, Takesue allows the sight and sounds-and the people-of Uganda to speak for themselves. Usually the people she records simply ignore the camera, but when someone does engage-whether it's a group of school children...