Documentary Cinematography
Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama
Dir. Cindy Mochizuki | 71 minutes | 2024
World Premiere at DOXA Documentary Film Festival ‘24
Between Pictures tells the epic journey of the late Japanese Canadian photographer Tamio Wakayama, who joins the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1960’s American civil rights movement. Learning the art of dark room photography along the way, this transformative moment allows him to confront his own identity and return ‘home’ to Vancouver, where his body of work celebrates, re-presents and document the spirit of Japanese Canadians who resided in the former Paueru Gai/Powell Street neighborhood.
Cinematography and editing by Milena Salazar. More info here.
Shannon Walsh
Dir. Rami Katz | 3 mins | 2023
Portrait of filmmaker Shannon Walsh, commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts to celebrate Walsh’s Governor General’s Award in Visual Art and Media.
Cinematography and editing by Milena Salazar. More info here.
Back Home
Dir. Nisha Platzer | Prod. Joella Cabalu | 90 minutes | 2022
Vancouver International Film Festival, RIDM
“Imagery rustling leaves, rippling ocean waves, pavement chalk drawings, and bramble-covered train tracks all take on deeper meaning in back home—Vancouver-raised director Nisha Platzer’s impressionistic documentary ode to the brother she lost to suicide in 1999, when she was 11 and he was 15.” - Stir Magazine
Additional cinematography by Milena Salazar.
Autumn Strawberry (Dance Film)
Dir. Cindy Mochizuki | 14 minutes | 2022
A dance film set inside Cindy Mochizuki’s Autumn Strawberry multimedia installation, presented at the Surrey Art Gallery in 2022.
Cinematography and editing by Milena Salazar.
More info: https://www.cindymochizuki.com/filmography-animation/autumn-strawberry
Koto: The Last Service
Dir. Joella Cabalu | 22 minutes | 2021
After nearly 40 years in operation, the family-run Koto Japanese Restaurant is closing down in Campbell River, British Columbia. Over the course of its last day, the small Vancouver Island community bids farewell in this meditation on how to say goodbye with grace. The community and relationships that formed over sushi will last long after the final service.
More info on CBC Short Docs. Cinematography by Milena Salazar.
雪/Snow
Dir. Cindy Mochizuki | 13 minutes | 2019
Presented at the Richmond Art Gallery and SFU Galleries
雪 / Snow is part of a larger installation project, Cave to Dream (2019), which uses portals as a metaphor for exploring story and ritual. 雪 / Snow takes place on the last day of a calendar year, following a family as they carefully put together a meal to greet the Namahage demon.
Cinematography by Milena Salazar.
Biker Bob’s Posthumous Adventure
Dir. Cat Mills | 18 minutes | 2019
Who is Biker Bob? And why does a bottle full of his ashes keep washing up on the beaches of Vancouver Island? Biker Bob’s Posthumous Adventure follows the bizarre mystery of Biker Bob and his afterlife visits across Vancouver Island. It’s a truly remarkable story, with twists and turns - about a man on a motorcycle, a group of strangers who became friends and the enduring power of love.
More info on CBC Short Docs. Cinematography by Milena Salazar.
Sue Sada Was Here
Dir. Cindy Mochizuki | 9 minutes | 2018
Sue Sada Was Here is an experimental dance film that turns written texts (statements, essays, manuscripts and poetry) by Muriel Kitagawa (1912–1974) into scores of physical movement.
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Cinematography and editing by Milena Salazar. Watch a short excerpt here.
Yu Su: Walking on Grass
Dir. Sara Wylie | 4 minutes | 2018
A short documentary on Vancouver-based electronic musician and DJ Yu Su, profiling her journey into dance music from the lessons she learned from her mother to the ways in which the west coast landscape inspires her.
Digital cinematography by Milena Salazar. More info on Editorial Magazine.
CBC Arts: Exhibitionists
Various artist for the CBC Arts-produced TV show Exhibitionists between 2017-2019. The segments were directed, edited, and shot by me, profiling the works of BC artists such as Sandeep Johal, Cindy Mochizuki, Joseph Wu, Christina Kenton, and Brendan Tang, among others.