UMI ISHIHARA

Ishihara’s experimental narrative films weave personal memory together with broader social realities. Shaped in part by an upbringing immersed in Japan’s underground nightlife and free-rave culture, her practice moves fluidly between fiction and documentary. She often works in close collaboration with non-professional actors, local residents, and people from her immediate surroundings. Through these encounters, her films portray distinct experiences of community and alienation, centering on lives and narratives that unfold outside dominant social structures.

Ishihara’s work has been exhibited and screened internationally at institutions including Gasworks, London; the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London; BFI Southbank, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; the National Museum of Art, Osaka; and Fukuoka Art Museum. She has also participated in major international film festivals and biennials, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno Film Festival, and the 2026 Busan Biennale. Most recently, she was selected for the 2026 Locarno Filmmakers Academy and the 2026 CHANEL X BIFF Asian Film Academy, and received a 2024 GQ Global Creativity Award.

Nocturnal Melody will be screened in the New Museum Forum every Saturday and Sunday in October from 11am–6pm.

Screens Series: Umi Ishihara is curated by Taeyi Kim, Curatorial Fellow.