Nao Yoshigai

Nao Yoshigai is a filmmaker, choreographer and dancer. She gets her inspiration for her films from her experience as a dancer, and this is breathtakingly apparent in Grand Bouquet. The movement which began with the words “MeToo” has now spread across the globe, pushing Japanese women to raise their voices in their country, known for its proverbial tradition. The “Me Too” movement grew to what it is now because, across the globe, these women chose to challenge this grand authority of traditional structures in their countries. The movement developed because they united their voices and their words, and planted them in the modern soil, which allowed it to grow and spread. The oppressed are not only women, immigrants, refugees and members of the LGBT community, however. All minorities who seek to coexist with the majority can experience oppression. The allegations that have surfaced throughout the world speak for themselves. The words that emerged from this new soil, climbing up for future generations, were spoken to prevent there being future victims, knowing full well that change can only come about through joint efforts. This delicate plant of resistance inspired Nao Yoshigai to create Grand Bouquet. Grand Bouquet is an allegory of the existentially painful process of raising one’s seemingly insignificant voice among many, despite the fear. Raising one’s voice and pushing it outside of oneself despite the pain: transforming it into a flower. Only when people begin to gather in cooperative support, raising their voices in unison, can these voices and words grow into a bouquet, emotive enough to break the status quo, and create a new horizon of possibilities. This hope underlies Grand Bouquet. But wherever people gather, invisible individuals are born once again.

Nao Yoshigai participated in the 72nd International Cannes Film Festival in 2019, among other things, and in the Vladivostok International Film Festival in Russia. For more information on Nao Yoshigai, visit https://naoyoshigai.com. KHM). He works with special focus on spatial media design for exhibitions, film, television and theater.