Director/animator/illustrator Kaho Yoshida mixes 2D animation and stop-motion into a very personal film addressing some of the issues she has faced as an Asian woman living in the West.

Kaho Yoshida: “As an immigrant who speaks with an accent, I have a very complicated relationship with my tongue. Every time I open my mouth to speak, my tongue betrays me and reveals my otherness.

“It keeps me from accessing certain safety and privilege people without an accent have access to. At the same time, my tongue allows me to taste delicious food, talk to people I love, and give and receive pleasure. I think about tongues a lot and wanted to make a film about it.

“Being an Asian woman in the West, I have been fetishized and objectified while my needs and desires were dismissed. As I sat across from men who talked at me, often explaining things I already knew, I fantasized about pulling their tongues away.

“I have been thinking about this idea for 4-5 years. I animated the tongues in stop-motion. After compositing and timing the stop-motion footage in After Effects, I animated the characters in photoshop.”
 

 
Director/animator: Kaho Yoshida

Sound design: Ana Roman
Voice: Colin Chapin