Yokna Hasegawa
Directing
Biography
b.1985, Nasushiobara, Japan Based in Niigata. Under the name of Yokna Patofa, she has released numerous video essays and artistic videos on the internet since 2006. As a photographer, she won honorable mention award in “Canon New Cosmos of Photography 2013”. First feature film, “DUAL CITY” is the second part of “Japanese Year Zero trilogy”, after the first part, “illuminations”. She also won “Nippon Visions Jury Award” Special Mention for “DUAL CITY” in Nippon Connection 2015. In “The 9th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative visions 2017”, she was featured as the newcomer film maker. 2019, she was invited to Berlinale Talents as a director by the 69th Berlin international film festival. (source: https://yoknahasegawa.com/CV)
Known For
2034, Japan is divided into North and South parts. In the South, people live a peaceful life, while conflicts are going on in the North. For Yoriko, a nurse in the North, her sole consolation is to visit where she can access her late daughter’s lifetime information. One day, Yoriko is abducted, but she learns that dead individual’s total memories are preserved as in the South,a nd that her daughter is still alive in that form.
Dual City
In 2020, Japan is divided into North and South. Northern Japan became the area of conflict. Although in Southern Japan they still preserve peace, it is slowly changing into a threatening situation day by day. 18-year-old Southerner Yousuke, who lost his childhood friend as a deserter to the Northern War, spends his days in emptiness. One day he meets Kikuchi and gets to know about the drug 'Illuminations', which has the effect of time travel and is popular among kids.
Illuminations
In the distant future, humanity has split into two groups: one that has left Earth to explore the cosmos, and another that remains behind, surviving on the planet.