By Kristin Reiber Harris
Flower Punk, Alison Klayman’s film recently released on The New Yorker documentary site, delights visually and aesthetically with the bonus of illuminating Japanese cultural traditions regarding the natural world. Alison Klayman is a veteran director who has created a body of work frequently focusing on artists. Her debut feature, Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry premiered at Sundance in 2012. There it was awarded a US Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance and was later shortlisted for an Academy Award.
Klayman recently had a conversation with NYWIFT board member Joyce Pierpoline about Flower Punk and her career. Alison clearly enjoyed directing her film project documenting the life and work of Japanese botanical artist Azuma Makoto. The film follows Azuma in his Tokyo studio and beyond. Originally from a small town in Japan, he came to Tokyo with a high school buddy to play in a punk band. His buddy, photographer Shiinoki Shunsuketo, is now his partner in their botanical art business JARDIN des FLEURS. Shiinoki documents Azuma’s work in still, timelapse, and video. Some of their more unusual projects include botanical sculpture sent into space and under the ocean. There appear to be no bounds to the team’s creative energy and desire to experiment.
As Azuma weaves his magic arranging flowers, he talks about his passion for flowers and his philosophy. Cut flowers have a 10 day life span. This makes him feel like he is chasing the game of life. He even finds beauty in the dying out of those flowers. A deeply spiritual man, Azuma was very moved by the devastation of the tsunami in Fukushima. He delivered floral arrangements to local schools and planted sunflowers in the radioactive areas of the disaster. Azuma marveled at nature’s ability to regenerate in those regions contaminated by radioactivity. He clearly has a deep connection to the natural world and great reverence for life; plants in particular. Alison joined Azuma in his home village with his mother and other family members. He said his mother taught him to love flowers, saying they were God’s work and should be picked and displayed.
Lush imagery and a fascinating, articulate artist make this 30-minute documentary a must see film for anyone interested in how human’s actively connect to the natural world and flowers as a form of creative expression.
Watch the full NYWIFT conversation with filmmaker Alison Klayman here:
Kristin Harris
Kristin Reiber Harris is an artist, animator and educator. She tells stories about the connection of all life on Earth and the wonder and wisdom of the natural world. Her films have been screened in numerous film festivals for over 20 years. Recently Kristin received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to create a series of drawings celebrating the connection of all life. The drawings are inspired by visits to Narrows Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn and Islamic geometrical symmetries. Learn more about her work at KristinHarrisDesign.com and follow @kristinharrisdesign. She is documenting her process and progress on the NYSCA grant on https://lifeisinthebalance.blogspot.com.
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Farah Otero-Amad
Welcome to NYWIFT, Farah Otero-Amad! Farah Otero-Amad is a trilingual video producer and host for The Wall Street Journal, where she writes, shoots, and edits short-form vertical videos that reach millions across platforms. She recently directed and produced her first award-winning short documentary, Breaking the Cycle, which follows a hip-hop school in Medellin, Colombia, where students compete for the title of the city’s top breakdancer. Previously, Farah worked for The New York Times, Apple TV’s The Problem with Jon Stewart, and NBC News. She is a graduate of Columbia’s Journalism School, a Fulbright Scholar, and a former Division I athlete.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Isabel Cama
Welcome to NYWIFT, Isabel Cama! Isabel Cama is a Brazilian screenwriter, filmmaker, and editor based in New York City. A recent Bard College graduate with a BA in Film Production, her thesis film, Tiny Dancer, screened at the Albany, Coney Island, and East Village Film Festivals. Isabel’s professional experience spans production roles with Disney Brazil and Ventre Studio, post-production research with Academy Award-nominee Petra Costa, and Operations work at the Woodstock Film Festival. Currently working as the first Social Video Fellow at BuzzFeed, she is passionate about stories that explore layered female characters and bridging cultures through film and media.
READ MOREMeet The New NYWIFT Member: Wendy Rubin
Wendy is a financial executive, media veteran, and creator of Fintimacy: A Women's Guide to Financial Freedom. After two decades in entertainment, finance, and private equity, she's on a mission to help women break free from shame and step into financial power. Her work translates the intimidating language of wealth into smart, clear tools for real life, blending strategic rigor with empathy, humor, and real-world insight. She's also an endurance athlete who has completed 10 New York City marathons to date. Wendy told us about her journey from the Midwest to becoming a fractional CFO in media and entertainment, her passion for empowering women through financial literacy, and her exciting upcoming book and podcast series.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Sen-I Yu
Welcome to NYWIFT, Sen-I Yu! Sen-I Yu is a New York-based, award-winning filmmaker originally from Taiwan. Her feature directorial debut My Heavenly City garnered international recognition, including a NETPAC Award nomination at the 43rd Hawaii International Film Festival, Best Picture and IndiePix Vision Award at the 2025 Winter Film Festival, among others. The film secured worldwide theatrical distribution in 2023 throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, with limited releases in North America and the UK. The Guardian called it a “fresh, thoughtful take on immigrant experience, Sen-I Yu’s sympathetic and humane film traces three loosely woven stories of people dealing with loneliness in New York City…” In our interview, she discusses her debut feature, how her immigrant experience influences her creative process, and the types of stories that inspire her.
READ MORE
Comments are closed