Finding Her Beat

Ohio Premiere

About This Film

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Festival Year: 2023
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Run Time: 89 Minutes
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Film Type: Feature
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Animated: No
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Countr(ies): Japan, USA
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English Subtitles: No
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Captions: Closed

Film Overview

Hear that? It’s the pulsating, earth-shattering beat breaking through thousands of years of gender norms as Japanese drum master Tiffany Tamaribuchi and North Dakotan/Korean adoptee Jennifer Weir train women in the art of Taiko, a percussive art traditionally only performed by men, in preparation for a history-making concert. —M.G.It’s February 2020 and a group of awe-inspiring women have been working tirelessly for months to put together a historic performance: the world’s first female-led Taiko drummers—an ancient art that has previously been only reserved for men. Battling exhaustion, limited rehearsal time, and the looming threat of a global pandemic, the group will stop at nothing to bring this dream to fruition. Coming together from multiple countries and a variety of backgrounds, these women find strength and belonging in one another and in their shared passion for Taiko. Under the leadership of Jennifer Weir, a charismatic powerhouse whose incredible vision sees the project through, FINDING HER BEAT is a mesmerizing documentary that reframes the days of early Covid as a time of magic, joy, and resilience. —G.S. GUEST(S) ARE SCHEDULED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A

Film Contact: Dawn Mikkelson

Cast & Crew

Directed By

Dawn Mikkelson
Keri Pickett

Produced By

Dawn Mikkelson, Jennifer Weir

Cinematographers

Keri Pickett, Shiho Fukada, Caroline Mariko Stucky, Dawn Mikkelson

Editors

Dawn Mikkelson, Keri Pickett, Sam Kaiser, Carrie Shanahan