
In a poetic mix of dance, visual narrative and documentary, Saturn Risin9 follows queer performance artist Saturn on their return home to the Bay Area. We follow their journey of perseverance centering self-discovery, affirmation, healing and creative expansion, poetically told through fantastical imagery and nonlinear narrative.
Directors Spotlight

Tiare Ribeaux
Director
Tiare Ribeaux is a Kānaka ‘Ōiwi filmmaker, artist, and creative producer based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Her films disrupt conventional storytelling methods by employing magical realist explorations of spirituality, labor, and the environment to critique both social and ecological imbalances. Her work uses components of speculative fiction and fantasy to reimagine both our present realities and future trajectories of healing, queerness, lineage, and belonging. Ribeaux’s work traverses between the mundane and dreamworlds – creating stories around transformation and how our bodies are inextricably linked to land and water systems. She integrates immersion within community, personal/ancestral narratives, and Hawaiian cosmology into her films. Her work often combines with installation elements to create immersive and expanded media experiences.

Jody Stillwater
Director
Jody Stillwater 周青海, a filmmaker and artist in the San Francisco Bay Area, is renowned for his expertise in dynamic movement, semiotic language, time cycles, rhythm, and archetype synthesis. With over 30 films directed, his work often intricately explores the diverse Bay Area cultural ecology and the theme of growth following disruption. An Emmy-nominated filmmaker and co-founder of Yanasa Creative Group, Jody has showcased his work at prestigious venues including the MoMA in NYC, Hammer Museum, de Young Museum, YBCA, Mutek, Gray Area, Honolulu Museum of Art, Transfer Gallery, and ISEA. He has also been a finalist for the SFFILM Kenneth Rainin Screenwriting grant and has been commissioned by notable companies such as Google, Meta/Facebook, Knotel, and Bentley Mills. He has screened films at Marfa Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Bucharest Int’l Dance Film Festival, performed live video projects at Gray Area Foundation for the Arts and participated in various multi-disciplinary labs such as the Tribeca Film Festival Hacks Lab (incorporating film + technology) and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival Co-Lab (built around choreography + film). He works in multiple mediums and holds a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz.
- Runtime 11 minutes
- Country United States
- Language English
- Director Tiare Ribeaux, Jody Stillwater
- Cast Saturn Rising, Jocquese Whitfield, Sissy Slays, Aubrey Gail Ferreira, Star Amerasu
- Cinematographer Michael Epple
- Sound Design Mahadev
- Editor Kyle Kasashima, Tiare Ribeaux
- Music Mahadev, Tiare Ribeaux
- Producer Yanasa Creative Group, Gina Crow, Tiare Ribeaux, Sebastian Galasso
- Premiere East Coast