Vita Lakamaya

Berlinale Shorts Special Programme 2025

Two creatures lie in a meadow in the land of Vita Lakamaya. The camera pans very slowly, exploring the ground and the world. There is a buzzing in the air. Something is different. The seemingly naïve animation reveals a tranquillity – as similarly puzzling as the sudden procession of creatures passing through the forest. A funeral? Fish accompany them. The meadow is populated with beetles and butterflies. The year’s cycle is complete. The leaves fall and the being sleeps. Dreamt and dreamy is the procession, the time. The year draws to a close. In a single shot, director Akihito Izuhara once again reveals a glimpse of the life in Vita Lakamaya.

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by Akihito Izuhara (Director), Ikuko Mizokami (Screenplay) Japan 2016 Without dialogue 8' Colour Animation

Crew

Director	Akihito Izuhara
Screenplay	Ikuko Mizokami
Animation	Akihito Izuhara
Sound Design	Midori Hirano

Produced by

Studio Mangosteen

World Sales

Studio Mangosteen

Akihito Izuhara

Born in the prefecture of Gifu in Japan in 1964. His films and video installations have been presented in exhibitions in Japan since 1990. He was invited to the Berlinale for the first time in 2010 with his short film Akai Mori no Uta. In 2012, he returned to Berlinale Shorts with LI.LI.TA.AL., and in 2016 with Vita Lakamaya which, in 2025, is being re-screened as part of the “You and I Are Not Alone – Berlinale Shorts Revisited” jubilee programme. His work most recently featured in Berlinale Shorts in 2024 with Kawauso.

Filmography (short films)

2005 Serunefu (Selnef) 2007 Chiisana Tokage (Topy and Little Creature) 2008 Kagayaku Ki (Brilliant Tree) · Akai mori no uta (The Song of Red Forest) 2011 LI.LI.TA.AL. 2016 Vita Lakamaya 2023 Kawauso

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025