Akinetic Mutism Synopsis
Society attempts to strip a woman of her self-expression by clothing her in oppressive garments of expectation, yet still, the seeks a path to self-liberation.
Unwearable Functional: Akinetic Mutism was an official selection of the 2016 WVN Online Film Festival.
About the Filmmaker
Heejoo Gwen Kim is an experimental animation filmmaker and new media artist. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with an MFA in New Media Arts, as well as an MFA in film, video, new media, and animation from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and, from Hongik University, a BFA in Art and Technology Studies as well as Painting and Drawing.
Her films and installations have been internationally presented at festivals and galleries in Germany, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Mexico, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, the Philippines, India, Latvia, Canada, Korea, Italy, Ecuador, and the United States. Currently, she is teaching at Bowling Green State University.
She has also taught in the Media Arts Department at The University of Montana, in the Art and Technology Studies Department at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in the Interactive Arts and Media Department at Columbia College Chicago.
More from the Filmmaker
Unwearable Functional: Akinetic Mutism is inspired by the works of Alexander McQueen and Iris Van Herpen. The intention of empowering women wearing McQueen’s garments and Herpen’s expression of identity combined with desire, moods, and cultural setting stimulated the concept of this film. It explores sculpted abstract surfaces, visualizing unseen relationships: between the skin and garments, and its poignant status.
