NOBU, a short film.
NOBU is a short film about former karate world champion and Japanese immigrant Nobuaki Konno (1953).
Nobu moved to the Netherlands forty years ago and it has always been a bit of a question mark to his daughter why exactly.
In the film, his daughter and fashion designer, Lisa Konno, askes him about cultural differences, love, friendship and solitude whilst he wears a collection she made inspired by him.
NOBU arose from conversations about engagement in art.
Lisa and I were surrised about how social involvement in stories is almost automatically linked to melancholy.
With NOBU I tried to thematize integration without losing the light-footed tone that fits the main character.
NOBU arose from conversations about engagement in art.
Lisa and I were surrised about how social involvement in stories is almost automatically linked to melancholy.
With NOBU I tried to thematize integration without losing the light-footed tone that fits the main character.
Furthermore my aim was to make an other unusual combination: aesthetics and humour.
I wanted to capture the complexity of migration in a portrait of a migrant who has never experienced migration as complex.
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I wanted to capture the complexity of migration in a portrait of a migrant who has never experienced migration as complex.
NOBU premiered in 2018 on the Dutch Design Week and was on screen in Foam during their Structures of Identity exhibition. Tropenmuseum Amsterdam showed NOBU at Museumnacht and during their Cool Japan Week. NOBU was nominated for best documentary at Flatpack Festival Birmigham and Eindhovens Film Festival. It won three Audiance Award’s: at Rialto for Short, Rotterdams Open Doek and Szcecin Film Festival. It won the second jury prize in the Lille international Short film festival competition and best film of the month at Shortcutz Amsterdam. NOBU will have it’s Japanese premiere at Sapporo Film Festival.