Documentary backdrop image for Maelstrom (2023)

Documentary backdrop image for Maelstrom (2023)

202379 minGdocumentary

Maelstrom

202379 minGdocumentary

A bicycle accident forces Mizuko YAMAOKA to return to Japan and rely on a wheelchair, challenging her pursuit of art and personal fulfillment.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

A bicycle accident forces Mizuko YAMAOKA to return to Japan and rely on a wheelchair, challenging her pursuit of art and personal fulfillment.

People

Mizuko Yamaokadirector

Synopsis

Mizuko Yamaoka graduated from art school in New York in 2002. After a bicycle accident, she became dependent on a wheelchair and returned to Japan to live with her parents. Using private footage, Maelstrom follows her attempts to continue her artistic ambitions despite her new limitations. The film depicts her challenges and determination to find meaning in her life and work. It runs for 79 minutes and was released in 2023.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

My Atomic Aunt (2013)

My Atomic Aunt

Ten years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Kyoko Miyake returns to her hometown of Namie to confront the lasting effects on her community and family.

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami (2023)

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami

Eight kilometers separate Aunt Kuniko's home from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which exploded on March 11, 2011, forcing her community into disarray.

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami

The Boy On The Bike - Japan (2011)

The Boy On The Bike - Japan

Rikuzentakata, a coastal city in Japan, experienced profound changes in its community and landscape following the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The Boy On The Bike - Japan

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance (2024)

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance

In Norway, prima ballerina Maiko faces the challenges of balancing a demanding career with the desire to start a family after age 30.

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance

Traces of Mika a Visual Memoir (2024)

Traces of Mika a Visual Memoir

Tamika Jamison, a former teen mother turned CEO, revisits her family roots to confront past traumas and explore the complexities of familial relationships.

Traces of Mika a Visual Memoir

You've Never Seen A Wheelchair Like This (2024)

You've Never Seen A Wheelchair Like This

A wheelchair can spin in place and navigate stairs, featuring disco balls, train horns, and dual mounted Nerf guns, all designed for a child named Cash.

You've Never Seen A Wheelchair Like This

Young Athlete Overcomes Hit And Run - Fight Like Ana (2023)

Young Athlete Overcomes Hit And Run - Fight Like Ana

A young athlete in the United States faces severe injuries from a hit-and-run incident, challenging her aspirations of playing college basketball.

Young Athlete Overcomes Hit And Run - Fight Like Ana

Fukushima, Japan: 'Nuclear power and humans cannot co-exist' (2015)

Fukushima, Japan: 'Nuclear power and humans cannot co-exist'

Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami lead to a nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.

Fukushima, Japan: 'Nuclear power and humans cannot co-exist'

Whale Wars (2008)

Whale Wars

Japan has been accused of vote buying at the International Whaling Commission, using aid to influence small nations like Dominica to support its whaling agenda.

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home (2021)

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home

The median home price in Crested Butte reached one million dollars in 2020, a 38 percent increase from the previous year, exacerbating the housing crisis.

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home

Explore Maelstrom

Where else to watch

My Atomic Aunt (2013)

My Atomic Aunt

Ten years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Kyoko Miyake returns to her hometown of Namie to confront the lasting effects on her community and family.

No digital watch option in your country

Kusama: Infinity (2018)

Kusama: Infinity

2018•1h20m•★7.2TMDB

At 88 years old, Yayoi Kusama continues to create art while living in a mental hospital, having become one of the best-selling artists in the world.

Kusama: Infinity

Director Disqualified (2011)

Director Disqualified

2011•1h51m•★8.5TMDB

Two videos capture a 1997 cycling trip from Tokyo to Hokkaido by AV director Hirano Katsuyuki and actress Hayashi Yumika.

Director Disqualified

Yokohama Mary (2006)

Yokohama Mary

2006•1h31m•★9.0TMDB

For over 50 years, a woman known as Yokohama Mary stood on a street corner in Yokohama, becoming a local icon before her mysterious disappearance in 1995.

Keiko Kishi, Eternally Rebellious (2023)

Keiko Kishi, Eternally Rebellious

2023•52m•★6.0TMDB

In 1957, Keiko Kishi married French director Yves Ciampi, a union that stirred controversy in Japan following their work on 'Typhoon Over Nagasaki.

Keiko Kishi, Eternally Rebellious

Browse more like this

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami (2023)

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami

Eight kilometers separate Aunt Kuniko's home from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which exploded on March 11, 2011, forcing her community into disarray.

Fukushima: Surviving the Tsunami

No digital watch option in your country

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance (2024)

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance

In Norway, prima ballerina Maiko faces the challenges of balancing a demanding career with the desire to start a family after age 30.

Maiko: Dancing Child |💃Dance

No digital watch option in your country

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home (2021)

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home

The median home price in Crested Butte reached one million dollars in 2020, a 38 percent increase from the previous year, exacerbating the housing crisis.

This Town Was Paradise, Then Everyone Started Working From Home

No digital watch option in your country

Chizuru (2011)

Chizuru

2011•1h19m•★10.0TMDB

Over the course of one year, a camera captures the daily life of Chizuru, a woman with severe intellectual disabilities and autism, and her mother.

Children Drawing Rainbows (1980)

Children Drawing Rainbows

1980•1h26m•★8.0TMDB

Mariko Miyagi follows disabled children at Nemunoki School as they engage in diverse art projects that showcase their creativity.

Children Drawing Rainbows

Water Children (2011)

Water Children

2011•1h15m•★6.0TMDB

Twelve thousand white silk dresses fill a cathedral-like installation, serving as a backdrop for discussions on womanhood, fertility, and motherhood.

Nowhere Near (2023)

Nowhere Near

2023•1h36m•★6.0TMDB

Acclaimed experimental filmmaker Miko Revereza presents a personal exploration of immigration, disillusionment, and the search for belonging in contemporary society.

Kusama's Self-Obliteration (1967)

Kusama's Self-Obliteration

1967•24m•★5.6TMDB

Yayoi Kusama's artistic vision is explored through her unique blend of painting, sculpture, and environmentalism, emphasizing a fusion of the arts.

Kusama's Self-Obliteration

Maelstrom (2019)

Maelstrom

A young Syrian refugee attempts to swim from Calais to England in search of a new home, haunted by memories of his past life.

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →