INVISIBLE PEOPLE

Bodies in white make-up in grotesque positions. Masks, robes and nightmare visions. Tense muscles in convulsive movement. Japanese butoh dance is about as far away from the classical western ideals of beauty as you can get. It is an art form where the sublime and the hideous meet – and there is no middle ground.

Invisible People is a multi-layered portrayal of the unique Japanese contemporary dance of butoh that emerged in the late 1950s and moves between rebellion, eroticism, trance and prayer. An atmospheric journey through Japan, diving into the stories, history, and lineage of local artists through their presence and performances. In butoh, “the shapes are not important but the gaps between those shapes are”. Invisible People endeavours to become butoh—an expression free of meaning—and breaks the documentary mold, through omission, cranking and reverse-motion effects, unexplained blinking, strobing and static cutaways. Alisa Berger’s stunning and immersive debut film gradually moves away from the dance itself and becomes an existential visual poem of life with all its strange micro-connections. Winner of the prestigious awards Jeu de Paume's Studio Collector Prize and Analix Forever Prize.