ABOUT 13 HOURS AHEAD

13 Hours Ahead is a six-channel video installation that traces the invisible geography between an immigrant single mother in the United States and her aging mother in Japan. Through a quiet observational style, immersive soundscapes, and a spatially fragmented design, the work transforms ordinary domestic rituals into sites of memory, duty, sacrifice, and longing. The viewer is positioned inside the disjointed rhythms of two lives that unfold together yet never align. It’s an intimate meditation on maternal bonds, immigrant guilt, and the paradox of loving across borders.

At its core, 13 Hours Ahead asks what it means to care for someone you cannot reach. The project reframes migration not as a solitary journey but as a generational condition that reverberates across families and decades. It foregrounds the often-erased perspective of those left behind - parents who wait, who age in silence, who sustain bonds through calls and gestures that bridge oceans but cannot erase them. It also speaks to the adult children navigating impossible choices: sacrificing ambitions to return home or enduring the guilt of absence.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sarasa Kikuchi is a filmmaker originally from Tokyo, Japan, now based in Boston. She has worked on numerous independent film productions, showcasing her skills as a director, cinematographer, and producer. With a background in cultural anthropology, Sarasa brings a unique perspective to her work, exploring human behavior and cultural dynamics in her films. Merging documentary sensibilities with narrative storytelling, Sarasa crafts films that are both intellectually grounded and emotionally resonant. Currently pursuing a master's degree in Film and Media Art at Emerson College.

This project is deeply personal and entirely self-funded. If the story resonates with you, I invite you to support its journey by contributing to the GoFundMe — every gesture, no matter the size, helps bring this work to life.