舌 Tongue

A darkly-comedic visceral short film.

Mixed-media animation director Kaho Yoshida debuts a powerful personal short film entitled ‘舌 Tongue’ that confronts the culture of sexual fetishisation of Asian women and depicts Kaho’s lived experiences as an immigrant to Canada. Power is a central theme in the film as the tongue itself is key to accessing certain privileges and safety, something Kaho struggled with learning English as a teenager in a primarily English-speaking country.

Focusing on the tongue as an emblem of both pleasure and pain Kaho’s mixed-media approach adds texture and intrigue to the narrative. The sound design became an important aspect of the film, with Ana Roman creating the visceral soundscapes. Kaho wanted the tongue sounds to evoke sensuality but become borderline grotesque throughout the film.