Finding Her Beat (QWOCFF Featured Screening)

Finding Her Beat by Dawn Mikkelson & Keri Pickett, 2022 USA, 89 min. 💖

Sunday, June 16, 2024, 1:00 PM, Presidio Theatre

all QWOCFF films are fully open captioned with audio description available

Finding Her Beat

A Japanese drum master and Korean adoptee from Minnesota assemble the world’s best women Taiko drummers, to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been off-limits to women for centuries. As the troupe prepares for a historic performance in snowy St. Paul, they navi‌gate differences in culture, age, language, and performing styles in a voyage of music, cultural expression, and sisterhood.

I had never heard of Taiko, a traditional Japanese style of drumming, although I’ve probably seen examples of it without knowing the proper name. Its roots go back centuries, but until the mid-20th century, it was male-dominated, if not exclusively male. However, a small number of women have made names for themselves doing Taiko drumming in the 21st century. One of them decided to put on a performance with as many women and non-binary Taiko drummers as she could find, in Minneapolis, on Leap Day, February 29, 2020. It looked very much like Covid might drive a wrecking ball through the plans, and indeed it was the second-to-last event at the Ordway Center before lockdown. They pressed on, enduring a two-week residency constructing and rehearsing the lineup, and put on a great show.

The event was organized by Megan Chao Smith (pictured above). Performers included Tiffany Tamaribuchi (who gave a live performance at the QWOCFF reception), Chieko Kojima, Kaoly Asano, and others from across the United States, Canada, and Japan. Most of them have Japanese ancestry, but a few do not, and simply found themselves drawn to the art form.

It’s an engaging ride, allowing us to watch the process of creation as well as some of the final result. Even if you know nothing about drumming, it’s a MUST SEE.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker [Pickett] • Instagram • Facebook • preview • HERbeat Artist Reel on YouTube • full concert performance on Vimeo on Demand [$14.99] •