Set in the fictional Sendai City, the film portrays an oppressive regime forcing its citizens to watch "The Truth on Sendai City," a TV series that celebrates violence as a model and ideal for living. Reality is distorted by propaganda, while the black flag symbolizes absolute control and the loss of individual freedom.

Director Statement

BLACKFLAG is a political animated film that explores the mechanisms of control in a society where propaganda is not imposed — it is desired, consumed, and applauded. Inspired by the thought of Italian poet, filmmaker, and intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini, who called television “the new fascism,” the film reflects on how images can become weapons capable of erasing critical thinking and reshaping our perception of reality.

Set in the dystopian city of Sendai City, BLACKFLAG is the prequel to my previous film The Truth on Sendai City and reveals the precise moment when entertainment became truth, and violence turned into spectacle.

With over 25 years of experience in contemporary art — spanning photography, installation, drawing, and cinema — I have always used different media to question systems of power and visual codes. Animation, with its deep connection to memory and imagination, felt like the most suitable medium to evoke an inner response. In an era numbed by constant exposure to violence, I felt the need for a language that could go beyond realism and reach the subconscious.

Entirely handmade, frame by frame, BLACKFLAG draws from German Expressionism, 1980s fashion aesthetics, and iconic cinema, from Blade Runner to Salò. It is a visceral, visually charged journey designed to disturb, provoke, and inspire reflection.

With BLACKFLAG, I wanted to portray a dystopia that feels far too close to our present. A world where resistance passes through memory, through the gaze — and through the refusal to be entertained by lies.