MORI Arata

Profile

Born in 1983 in Akita. Lives and works in Kanagawa.
Graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins in 2012.
Mori is a documentary filmmaker and artist. His main work include a documentary film A Million (2021), which illustrates imaginary cities on the new silk road, and a feature documentary Johatsu - Into Thin Air (2024), co-directing with Andreas Hartmann. He also works as a freelance director for NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), doing reportages at places such as Ukraine border and Iran.

Released films:
2024 Johatsu - Into Thin Air
2024 Smugglers on the Balkan Route (NHK BS Special/Director)
2023 Our War in Ukraine (NHK BS Special/Director)
2021 A MILLION
2012 CAMINO NEGRO 

Awards
2022 “Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship”

About works

A visual expression is a means of spreading the wings of Mori's imagination to the unknown world. The experiences he has gained from creating work all over the world have constantly transformed the way he sees the world. After studying physical expression as a Butoh dancer, he has worked as an artist and documentary filmmaker, dealing with ambivalent themes in his work that question “representation” itself, such as the fusion of body and image, and the boundary between reality and fiction. He tries to sublimate the real world into a virtual space through the lens and to transform it into a universal form.