Rita Ferrando

Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, is explored in a delicate and ethereal manner, layering space, time, and the elements of life. This ancestral art is observed from a distance, so as to never interrupt the movements of its practitioners. Rita Ferrando’s Ikebana is a hypnotic work with somewhat esoteric narration that highlights each step in the process with animations emphasizing the meticulous and meditative deeper meaning behind the art. This hybrid structure raises questions about the art of representation, inevitably present in cinema. How can we grasp the essence of what we want to show on film? Ikebana suggests that what we seek may be hidden well beyond the visible realm.

Remarkable for its tenderness and thoughtfulness, this drama by Toronto’s Rita Ferrando captures a woman’s welter of emotions and experiences as she and her partner prepare to terminate a pregnancy.

Rita Ferrando similarly considers her family’s history of migration by way of archival fragments and a conversation across time with her artist grandfather.