DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
“Five Seven Five Change Key”
by Cris Ubermann, director
"Haiku on film" was our original artistic concept for the Mozzman series of films. But, as my collaborator Yukita Kusunoki, the writer, producer, and actor, and I progressed through the first three short films into our first feature film in this series, JOURNEY TO MT. FUJI, we found the concept growing and changing from the formal and transient haiku into the infinite and mutable world of Jazz. We began with a haiku beat; as the series has evolved, we have added instruments in the form of many talented colleagues and created a band. Mozzman grows. So do we.
We first find Mozzman as the simplest of souls, innocent even of identity, stranded on an unknown planet, a lost soul who simply wants to go home. His experience is visual, ephemeral, poetic, and expressed with images layered on images -- stock, fine art, original footage, original music, stills, voices, effects, more -- all whirling together in a panoply of sound and light, clouding yet illuminating the character and his discoveries as he begins his journey to himself, his mission, and his home. Children understand his confusion and innocence; it mirrors their own. Adults, often led by their children, come to see Mozzman as someone like them, neither alien nor frightening, but caring and good.
In JOURNEY TO MT. FUJI, Mozzman begins to recall his home; he glimpses his mission and feels the love of his mother reaching for him and guiding him. Through his mother's love, Mozzman sees glimpses of himself, creating overwhelming yearning for his home and family. Now that he has some memory of them, they feel further away than ever.
In JOURNEY TO MT. FUJI, Mozzman's first feature film, he is confronted with a terrible mission. As he journeys to save his young friend, he recovers more of his identity, as other characters and scenes from his past reach forward to propel him on his mission, with his mother gently urging him forward by showing him the love, power and security that comes from his past, from his home, and from her love. This allows Mozzman to consciously help his human friends and realize the interconnectedness of life, on Earth and on Planet Mozz -- another step on his journey.
But that is words. In the medium of film, we can do much better than mere words. With images, with music, with art, all together in a single experiential medium, JOURNEY TO MT. FUJI is jazz on film.
