Private Project

A Mixtape for Stom

"A Mixtape for Stom" is an intimate documentary portrait of Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo (1975–2012), whose frenetic Super-8mm works became emblematic of New York’s underground cinema at the turn of the millennium. A close friend, filmmaker Adrian Goycoolea reflects on Sogo’s life and legacy, framing the film as a reply to the final email he received from him.

Drawing from personal archives, interviews, and memory, the film assembles a collage of Sogo’s art and presence: radiant, restless, and unresolved. Contributors include Jonas Mekas, Bruce McClure, Raha Raissnia, Julius Ziz, Ed Halter, Andy Lampert, and members of Sogo’s family, offering perspectives on his talent, struggles, and influence.

Scored by Joe Watson of Stereolab, "A Mixtape for Stom" is at once an elegy and an act of remembrance; a meditation on friendship and grief, and a testament to an underground legacy that continues to reverberate.

(Note to programmers: The filmmaker can assist in organising a companion programme of Stom Sogo shorts if you would like.)

  • Adrian Goycoolea
    Director
    AI Jetée, Flight of the Humming Bird, ¡Viva Chile Mierda!, Uncle Denis?
  • Adrian Goycoolea
    Producer
  • Jonas Mekas
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Bruce McClure
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Ed Halter
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Raha Raissnia
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Andy Lampert
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Zoe Greenberg
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Julius Ziz
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Albert Herter
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Kate Elmore
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Ai Watanabe
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Yukiko Sogo
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • John Mhiripiri
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Moira Tierney
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Jeff Perkins
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Oona Mekas
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Mark McElhatten
    Key Cast
  • Mau Ceppi
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Joe Watson
    Musical Score
    Stereolab
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    Artist film, Portrait documentary, Arts documentary, Biographical documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 42 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 10, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,800 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English, Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Chicago Underground Film Festival
    Chicago, Illinois
    United States
    September 20, 2025
    World Premiere
  • Light Matter Film Festival (Experimental Film and Media Art)
    Albert, New York
    United States
    November 8, 2025
    New York State
  • CineCity Film Festival
    Brighton
    United Kingdom
    November 13, 2025
    United Kingdom
  • Art Kino Theater
    Rijeka
    Croatia
    December 12, 2025
    Croatia
  • FOMO Cinema
    Tblisi
    Georgia
    December 18, 2025
    Georgia
  • Anthology Film Archives
    New York City
    United States
    January 17, 2026
    USA
  • New Jersey Film Festival
    New Brunswick
    United States
    February 21, 2026
    New Jersey
Director Biography - Adrian Goycoolea

Adrian Goycoolea is an American–Chilean–Brazilian filmmaker whose work spans documentary, experimental film, and hybrid media. His films explore memory, identity, and political history, combining personal narratives with archival material and technological innovation. His feature "¡Viva Chile Mierda!" is held in Chile’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights and has screened internationally. Other notable works include "Uncle Denis?", part of the BFI National Archive, and "AI Jetée", an award-winning AI-generated reimagining of Chris Marker's "La Jetée".

His latest film, "A Mixtape for Stom", is an intimate documentary about Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo. Goycoolea’s work has been presented at festivals including Rotterdam, Frameline, Antimatter, BFI Flare, and FIDOCS. He is based in Brighton and teaches filmmaking at the University of Sussex.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"A Mixtape for Stom" is a personal documentary exploring the life of my close friend, Stom Sogo, a Japanese experimental filmmaker whose untimely death in 2012 profoundly affected those who knew him. Structured around my response to the last email he sent me, the film integrates personal voiceover, archival material, and interviews with artists, filmmakers, and members of his family.

Stom was more than a filmmaker. He was a pivotal figure within New York's experimental film community around the turn of the millennium. As a projectionist at Anthology Film Archives, he organised screenings and fostered connections among an emerging generation of underground artists. His work, distinguished by strobing visuals, re-photography, and complex sound layering, was profoundly personal and deeply shaped by his traumatic past, struggles with drug use, epilepsy, and engagement with avant-garde film history.

In creating this documentary, my aim was not only to honour Stom’s artistic achievements but also to examine the forces that influenced his life and ultimately contributed to his death from a drug overdose. "A Mixtape for Stom" thus serves both as a tribute and as a critical reflection, exploring themes of memory and loss, as well as the complexities inherent in reconciling an artist’s creative brilliance with the troubling realities revealed only after their passing.