TT Takemoto is a queer Japanese American artist and scholar exploring Asian American history, sexuality, and identity. Their experimental films delve into hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and trauma that exist within Asian and Asian American archives. Takemoto interacts with found footage and archival materials through labour-intensive processes such as painting, lifting, and manipulating 16mm/35mm film. By engaging with tactile and sensory dimensions of queer histories, Takemoto conjures up immersive fantasies. Their films honour queer Asian Americans who lived, loved, and laboured together during the pre-war era and beyond.
Takemoto has shown their work extensively at international film festivals including “Anthology Film Archive”, New York, USA; “BFI Flare”, London, UK; MiX Festival of LGBTQ + Cinema and Queer Culture, Milan, Italy; Outfest, Los Angeles, USA; Queer Forever!, Hanoi, Vietnam; Rio Gay Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, TranScreen (Amsterdam), and Xposed International Queer Film Festival (Berlin). Takemoto was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Experimental Film at Slamdance Film Festival and Best Experimental Film Jury Award at Austin LGBT International Film Festival.
Takemoto currently lives and works in San Francisco, USA.
