CAM is pleased to partner with the annual St. Louis International Film Festival to present short films that explore the world of contemporary art through a cinematic lens. This event is free and open to the public and includes complimentary popcorn; additional refreshments will be available for purchase. Guests are welcome to bring dinner to enjoy during the screenings. Doors open at 7:00 pm. Click here to register.

For the artists featured in these documentary shorts, art provides an essential outlet to connect with self and others. These two films provide a complement to the exhibition Shinichi Sawada: Agents of Clay—one into the important role that educational programs in Japan play to the development of artists, and one into the transformative power of traditional, wood-firing kilns to clay objects and their creators.

Instruments of a Beating Heart (2024), directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki. 24 min.

• First graders in a Tokyo public elementary school are presented with a challenge for the final semester: performing “Ode to Joy” at the ceremony for the new incoming first graders. Ayame, who often struggles to keep up with the group, is determined to play a major part–the big drum.

Anagama (2024), directed by Guillermo Asensio. 61 min.

• Born in Taiwan and raised in Scotland by her adoptive British parents, Chen su li (Nancy Fuller) is searching for her place in the world. When she discovers the ancient Japanese tradition of wood fired ceramics in an anagama kiln, her life shifts into focus. Her path out of the shadows begins to take shape as she learns to love the unknown by staying present in the moment, as her art requires. Now a key figure in British ceramics, Nancy regularly exhibits in the most prestigious galleries in the United Kingdom, but continues to find inspiration in stillness and nature.