Directed by Andrey Alistratov and Hazuki Aikawa

See leaked info on the new iPhone 7 design!

Synopsis Upgrade is a story of a young woman who is experiencing an embarrassing malfunction with her older model of the iPhone and is desperately seeking an upgrade.

Directors' Statement On January 9, 2007 Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone at the Macworld convention. Six years later, iPhones and similar smart phones are now an integral part of our modern life, and in a way, beginning to alter who we are. To ridicule our addiction to our smart phones, we played out a world where this technological evolution may one day take over us. 'Upgrade' shows the latest and most fashionable iPhone model implanted directly in the consumers' mind. Not so far from the truth, it comments on the underlying strangeness of today's world of marketing, innovation, and increasingly virtual reality.                

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"Upgrade"

A Special Thank You to Dr. Gerald Cohen and Shoji Kawabata for letting us use Greenwich Cosmetic Dentistry.

Bios:
Andrey Alistratov (director) is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in Brooklyn, New York. His work includes numerous narrative short films, documentaries, and commercial works that have appeared on the film festival circuit as well as international broadcasters such as MTV, VH1, and Japan’s NHK. Born in Donetsk, Ukraine and having moved to New York at an early age, Andrey has explored a number of career paths before finding filmmaking. After graduating Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Economics and Literature, he has worked in professions as varied as financial asset research, music recording, and finally, various aspects of film and video production. Andrey is a founding partner of Noka Productions, a New York-based media company that focuses on film and video for the sciences and arts.

Hazuki Aikawa (director) has worked in multiple aspects of filmmaking including production, directing, editing, and screenwriting. With a background in science journalism and documentary production, she is well-versed in converting concept to visuals for various audiences and has worked with NHK, BBC, Fuji Television, and Kyodo Television. Hazuki's film credits including directing short films such as "Gone" "Notes" "Violin and the City" "The Night" and "Listen," producing commercials, music videos, and educational videos for MTV, ELLE TV, and UNIQLO. Hazuki is a founding partner of Noka Productions, a New York-based media company that focuses on film and video for the sciences and arts. Currently she is directing "Reflection," a short film about a young mother raising a transgender son, and "A Happy New Year," a short film about a disgruntled Japanese exchange student trapped alone in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Mina Nishimura (main actress) from Tokyo, Japan is a Brooklyn-based dance artist and a performer. While nationally and internationally working with a number of choreographers such as Kota Yamazaki, Neil Greenberg, DD Dorvillier, David Gordon, RoseAnne Spradlin, Yoshiko Chuma, Daria Fain and Trajal Harrel, Nishimura appeared in Haruki Murakami’s “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” directed by Stepehen Earnhart and Harry Partch’s “Delusion of Fury” directed by John Jesurum. Her own work has been presented by NYC venues including NYLA (formerly DTW), The Kitchen, Danspace Project and Roulette. Nishimura was selected to be the resident artist at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (2010-2011) and Movement Research (2013-2014), and recently curated Movement Research Spring Festival 2013.