TOKYO TOILETS

by Forma2

YEAR: 2020

 

SERVICE PROVIDED: Movie Director, Editor

 

SELECTION: 

Milano Design Film Festival (MDFF), 2021

Amsterdam International Awards (ARFF), 2021

European Cinematography Awards (ECA), 2021

Tagore International Film Festival, 2021

New York Cinematography Awards (NYCA), 2022

 

SYNOPSIS: 

 

Tokyo Toilets is a documentary about one of the most interesting urban design projects of all time. Launched last year in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, by The Nippon Foundation, the Shibuya City Government, and the Shibuya Tourism Association, this project features the redesign of 17 public toilets by some of the most renowned contemporary architects and designers. In our understanding of this small-scale yet extremely effective urban project, which serves as an excellent example for other cities worldwide, we present these unique facilities as distinct characters, each with its own personality enhanced by different soundtracks. From an initial glance of the historical background of public toilets in Tokyo - with the patina of black and white and the format of a postcard - the viewers is taken through a journey across these new Tokyo toilets micro cosmos focusing not only on the form and function, but also on the unique ways in which these architectures touch the "social fabric". Each of the seven facilities that have so far been built and opened to the public is a condensation of function into shape. The strength of their singular design allows and creates different experiences in diverse spaces of the urban fabric. We find this project to be a perfect solution for a city like Tokyo, built in unique layers of density, each one able to enrich and create its microenvironment. Tokyo is probably one of the most intriguing metropolises where the layers of history overlap, creating a maze of experiences and emotions. With Tokyo Toilet, one more layer has been added.