Randall Okita

Randall Okita is a Japanese Canadian artist and filmmaker known for creating work that involves rich visual language and innovative approaches to storytelling. His films have screened at Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, The Toronto International Film Festival and his artworks have been presented in group and solo exhibitions around the world. His work has received more than twenty international prizes including two Canadian Screen Awards from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, a Webby, and a Japan Prize.

Recent work includes directing the IFC feature film See for Me (Tribeca Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival), writing and directing the room-scale VR experience The Book of Distance (Sundance, Venice, Tribeca), and presenting A Place Between, a solo exhibition of artwork at the Prince Takamado Gallery in Tokyo.

The IFC thriller See For Me premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and stars visually impaired actor Skyler Davenport as Sophie, a blind former skier who turns to a Kelly, an army veteran living across the country, through a mobile app to help her fight back when a group of thieves break into the secluded mansion she is house-sitting.

The Book of Distance, Randall’s room-scale interactive virtual reality experience, debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. From the Best of VR section at Venice to the New Images Festival – XR Competition in Paris, The Book of Distance has garnered accolades at key events around the globe, including a prestigious Japan Prize, Kaohsiung Film Festival’s VR Golden Fireball Award, and a Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience.

Randall’s first feature film, The Lockpicker (2016), was created through a unique partnership with a Toronto high school developed to invite students to collaborate in the making of the film. The Lockpicker screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and received a Canadian Screen Award, the Grand Jury Prize from the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and Best First Feature from the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival.

In 2016, Randall exhibited Be Here Now, a large-scale interactive installation about the ephemeral nature of ceremony, memory and space where viewers are urged to strike the artwork to initiate their own experience. It was presented at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Midnight Massive event, and before that it was part of a three-month solo exhibition of his original artworks entitled Things I Can’t Tell You, commissioned by The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival where Randall received the 2016 Canadian Artist Spotlight Award.

His short film, The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer (2014), a spellbinding blend of live-action, high-speed camera work and digital animation which presents the haunting story of two brothers was awarded Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, Prix Format Court at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and Best Experimental Film at both L.A. and N.Y. Shorts Fest.

Portrait as a Random Act of Violence (2013), a short film for which he created an original large-scale kinetic sculpture, incorporates performance to examine the process of destructive and restorative transformations. It premiered at TIFF and won Best Experimental Film at L.A. Shorts Fest.

In 2015, Randall directed and performed in No Contract, a visceral video that combines elements of performance and documentary to explore themes of urgency, isolation and escape. The film included full-body burn pyrotechnics and wire-assisted jumps.

Fish in Barrel (2009), for which Randall took the cameras underwater as well as incorporating ultra slow-motion cinematography and complex stunts, is a live-action, high definition piece depicting a moment of intense internal crisis. It employs visceral metaphors for interior landscapes and the shooting involved underwater setups and ultra slow-motion videography, as well as wire suspended stunts and performances by extremely well cared for live animals.

Machine with Wishbone (2008), which featured the work of celebrated kinetic sculptors Arthur Ganson and Alan Storey and involved the creation of mechanical sets and visual choreography, tells the tale of a stoic mechanical wishbone on its journey through a world of snoring beds, paper birds, and places you have to see to believe. It won the Audience Award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival, Best Experimental Film at Winnipeg International Film Festival and the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Experimental Short at the Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival.

Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Okita lives and works in Toronto and Japan. Randall is an active mentor and instructor, grateful to participate in the building of vibrant creative communities that encourage communication and collaborative problem-solving. His favourite road snack is celery.