Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on March 3, 2026 in order to attend this event.
Please join the East Central European Center and the Harriman Institute for a screening of “Zansei,” followed by a lecture and a Q&A with composer and co-creator Nina Fukuoka.
The East Central European Center at the Harriman Institute presents its Spring 2026 film screening and lecture series: After 2020: New Directions in Polish Cinema, exploring how Polish artists, filmmakers, and cultural initiatives have reacted and responded to current events and contested issues in—though not exclusive to—Poland and East Central Europe. This series is organized by Chrisopher Caes and Cindy Sang.
Program Note:
残生 (zansei) (2020)
In creating my piece “Zansei,” I collaborated with Izumi Yoshida, who made the video component. “Zansei” is a subjective collection of impressions, gestures, spaces, and rituals that make up a journey through memories. “Zansei” creates a fictional journey through an undiscovered dimension of the world. The hidden dimension is available to everyone who wants to plunge into space and try to understand the message behind the image and sound. “Zansei” is also a piece about facing the reality that nothing happens by chance and that we build our lives based on decisions. This is obviously a universal truth, but especially as a woman living in the present day, I feel that I live in a reality that differs from what is natural for me. I must cope with an imposed reality that I found and can only modify. I cannot really change it or model it; I can only build on it through my choices. This realization and awakening make me want to live the “rest of my life” (Japanese: “Zansei”) in harmony with my true nature.
Nina Fukuoka is a Japanese and Polish composer and performer based in New York City. She makes instrumental and computer music and uses various media and technologies to express extramusical meaning. Nina’s works have been premiered at numerous festivals and venues across Europe, North America, and Japan, and performed by ensembles including Hashtag, Garage, Adapter, Ekmeles, Distractfold, Mivos, Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, Talea, Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej, TILT Brass, and Nadar. A DMA graduate of Columbia University, she serves as a Lecturer in Music there while also teaching composition at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. https://vimeo.com/ninafukuoka, http://ninafukuoka.com
