About

CINECITY: A Mixtape for Stom

(Followed by Q&A with director Adrian Goycoolea, hosted by Professor Piotr Cieplak)

UK Premiere
Dir. Adrian Goycoolea, UK/USA
English & Japanese with English Subtitles

An intimate documentary portrait of the late Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo (1975–2012).

Drawing from a personal archive of footage, interviews and memory, director Adrian Goycoolea assembles a collage of Sogo’s life and work, woven together by a voiceover addressed to the friend he lost.

Sogo’s films, often shot on Super 8, were raw and frenetic and a central part of New York’s underground film scene in the early 2000s. But behind the flickering brilliance was a troubled life, haunted by trauma, addiction and depression. With appearances by Jonas Mekas, Bruce McClure and members of Sogo’s family, this moving documentary (scored by Stereolab’s Joe Watson) is at once an elegy and a generous act of remembrance, a testament to an underground legacy that continues to reverberate.

Statement from Adrian Goycoolea, Director:
'A Mixtape for Stom' is a personal documentary about my close friend, Stom Sogo, a Japanese experimental filmmaker whose untimely death in 2012 left a lasting impact on those who knew him. Structured as a response to his final email to me, the film combines personal voiceover, archival material, and interviews with artists, filmmakers, and family members.

Stom was more than a filmmaker; he was a catalyst within the New York experimental film community at the turn of the millennium. Working as a projectionist at Anthology Film Archives, he organised screenings and built a network that connected and inspired a generation of underground artists. His work—often characterised by strobing visuals, re-photography, and layered sound—was deeply personal, shaped by his experiences of illness and marginalisation.

In making this film, I wanted not only to honour Stom’s artistic contribution but also to understand the forces that shaped his life and led to his death from a drug overdose. 'A Mixtape for Stom' is a tribute, but also a reckoning: an exploration of memory, loss, and the difficulty of reconciling an artist’s creative brilliance with the troubling aspects of their life that surface only after they are gone.

Please note we can only admit patrons aged 18 and over as this film has not been certified by the British Board of Film Classification nor an advisory rating given by either Brighton & Hove City Council or Lewes District Council. It has been agreed with these local authorities that we can screen these unclassified films but only those 18 and over can be admitted.

About CINECITY
Now in its 23rd year, CINECITY presents the very best in world cinema, with a diverse programme of premieres and previews, treasures from the archive, live soundtracks, exhibitions, talks and special events.

The festival takes place from 30 October until 16 November at venues across Brighton and Lewes.