Masumi was featured in VSCO and 23.5 present KYOTO by director Alan Algee. The 17 minute short introduces a larger project dedicated to an exploration of the city and its unique position at the intersection of ancient and contemporary worlds.
As VSCO’s original content title dedicated to global perspectives, 23.5 acts as a platform for the filmmaker to utilize the two-part film, a photography portfolio, and multimedia interviews to celebrate and document the city he calls home while also examining ideas around tradition, cultural preservation, modernity, and progress as they coexist in Japan’s original capital.
Masumi collaborated with director Alan Algee to film recurring contemporary dance performances that engage with the breadth of Kyoto's settings and that personify the spirituality and sensuality the director sees in the city, while also conveying the weight of the past and an elegance found in the city's modern life. A score by Gifted & Blessed and Man In A Loft connects a cascade of moments in a film composed from hundreds of hours of shooting logged primarily in the spring of 2016.
“Masumi’s sensitivity to her environment is her genius...She just has the gift to dance at the drop of a hat and to incorporate all the nuances of her surroundings in her expression — a pure artist and talent.”