Taiko drums have existed in Japan for over 2,000 years. The drumming art has been off limits to women for centuries. Until now.
In the midst of a frozen Minnosota winter with Covid rumbling in the background, a master of Japanese drumming and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota join forces to convene an all-female troupe of the world’s best Taiko drummers and claim a cultural spotlight previously reserved only for men. Through grueling rehearsals, the talented women share their vulnerability, pain, and joys and navigate their way through differences in culture, age, language, and performing styles.
As the clock ticks toward their first performance, it’s clear their story has become much larger than Taiko. Buoyed by dynamic drum performances and do-or-die spirit, FINDING HER BEAT is an energizing and uplifting story of music, cultural expression and, above all, sisterhood.
Salem Film Fest is happy to be collaborating with Marblehead High School on some of this year’s Blog Posts and we are grateful to MHS Teacher Connor Ryan who has been working with his students in exploring this year’s festival.
FINDING HER BEAT Co-Directors Keri Pickett and Dawn Mikkelson
MHS: How did you find this project?
Dawn Mikkelson: Jennifer Weir and I have been friends for over 20 years. We were meeting for lunch one day and talking about our creative lives, as working artists and queer mothers. Jen then shared her vision for HERbeat and asked if I might film it for historical documentation. The more we talked, the more I felt that this was bigger than a concert video. That we could explore what it is to be a woman in the arts, while also showing the story of these women coming together to do something groundbreaking. Jen liked that idea. I brought in Keri Pickett to co-Direct and become the DP and we started shooting in the fall of 2018.
MHS: How long did you film for?
DM: We shot from Fall 2018 to March 3, 2020. It was only a few days in 2018, then a couple weeks in Japan in 2019, and then at over 2 full weeks in 2020 leading up to the concert and afterwards. Then COVID shut everything down. Luckily, the performance happened, so we went into post-production.
MHS: There are a number of intimate moments throughout the film. What were the dynamics in the house like?
DM: The house was full of excitement, with late nights of bonding, practicing, celebrating, and of course… there was the flu that tore through the house, infecting both performers and the crew of the film. We actually had to pull in an additional cinematographer friend when Keri became too ill to film for a couple days.
MHS: How do you define the barrier between what should be filmed? Do you discuss what you would like to film with your subjects, or do you record everything and make decisions later?
DM: Our participants allowed us to film pretty much everything. There were a couple of decisions to not follow a couple of story lines that participants felt were too intimate. There were also a couple of conversations that were filmed that participants said, in the moment, please don’t use this. We respected that. They gave us so much access and there is no reason to exploit that access. At the end of the day, our goal is to lift up the larger story, while respecting the participants' boundaries. The participants understood this and trusted us to tell this story in a respectful way.
MHS: Some of the performers are at the beginning of their careers, while some are established stars of the genre. Could you discuss the ways in which this influenced filming?
DM: We wanted to have a diversity of experience represented on screen. From master taiko players who changed the field for decades to those who were just breaking through in their careers. These were considered the ‘All Stars” so all of them did have a level of success in their home region and country. This diversity of experience helped illustrate the great strides that have been made by those of marginalized genders in Taiko, but also the challenges that still exist in this performance art.
MHS: Have you kept in touch with any of the women in HerBeat?
DM: Absolutely. Of course Jen and Megan are a part of our weekly planning and a key part of our distribution team. In addition, most of the HERbeat performers have participated in screenings as guests and sometimes performers. We are currently developing a screening tour with our Japanese participants for later in the year. As we develop our impact campaign, they will continue to be involved, as we want this film to help bolster their careers, as well as introduce communities to the taiko in their own home towns.
MHS: What do you want your audience to take away from this film?
DM: To follow their dreams. It may sound cliché, but that is exactly what these performers did, in spite of all the barriers and glass ceilings they encountered. In addition, the fact that Jennifer Weir and her team decided to stop waiting for the taiko world to elevate it’s gender minorities and instead they elevated themselves, is something that can transfer to any field. If you aren’t invited to the party, throw your own party! That’s what FINDING HER BEAT is all about. And now the world of taiko is eagerly scrambling to catch up.
FINDING HER BEAT screens in-person at the Peabody Essex Museum on Friday, March 24 at 11am. The film is preceded by a Taiko drumming performance and followed by a Q&A with Film Subject Jennifer Weir - tickets available here.
The film is also available for streaming during the virtual portion of the festival, March 27 - April 2 - tickets available here.
