“Will I still walk when I am forty?” This film is an intimate portrait of a young artist who is fiercely independent, yet also humble and irresistibly charming. Her love-hate relationship with her body that isn’t “correct” fuels her drive to prove through her art that physical appearance shouldn't matter. And yet, Mari Katayama cares about her appearance, she yearns for the perfect figure, and her strength to express herself and to live her life as she is has attracted the sympathy of many women and young people around the world. Her gallerist points out how as a woman, as a disabled person, and as an Asian, right now she is in a unique position to establish herself as a significant artist and effect change. Basking in the success of her recent solo shows in Kyoto and Paris, she embarks on new projects, secretly dreaming of representing Japan at the Biennale in Venice. But the day is fast approaching when she might no longer be able to walk with her prostheses, lending urgency to everything she does. Filmed over a span of 2-3 years in Japan (Gunma, Tokyo, Kyoto, Kumamoto) and Europe (Venice, Paris, London), this will be an observational and unnarrated documentary that will offer an immersive insight into this unique artist’s life. Featuring observational scenes, conversations among characters, formal interviews and archive, the film will be visually rich as well as thought-provoking.

About The Team

Herbert Hunger

Originally from Vienna, Austria, he moved to London in 2004 to obtain a Master in Film Editing at the NFTS. Increasingly drawn to documentary, he edited numerous feature-length BBC films. Based in Tokyo since 2014, he has edited both for Japanese broadcaster NHK as well as international documentaries. In 2019 he co-founded Supermoon Pictures to create documentaries focussed on the arts.

Shigenori Mizuno

As Director and Producer, he has made more than 100 documentaries over his 30 year career. Many of his documentaries have been shown worldwide including "J'étais à Fukushima” (France 5), "Miracle Planet" (Discovery Canada, France 5), "The Second Wave" (Canada CBC) and feature film "Samurai Architect Tadao Ando". He spent 24 years at NHK, Japan's public broadcasters before co-founding Supermoon Pictures in 2019 to create documentaries focussed on the arts.