SO KAT’TA was first conceived and created as a live dance performance in the summer of 2011. It was based on a track from Flotation Device by Garbanzo. The lyrics are from a Japanese folk tale in which one farmer says to the other “I have harvested my rice” , to which the other replies “Ah, you’ve bought it”. This play on words derives from the double meaning of so kat’ta (it has been harvested/it has been bought). It underlies the theme of the live production and the film - that something which appears to be one thing could well be another. More specifically the dance can be seen as a reminder that all that we take for granted in life and come to rely on, can so easily be shattered. The live performance achieved a special poignancy at the time because the tsunami, and the nuclear tragedy at Fukushima, had recently occurred (in March 2011). One can only imagine the horror of this disaster in which, for those who survived the initial shock, all food and water was now poisoned (and in some places, still is). In the dance this is implied by a light and comic atmosphere which suddenly changes to one of foreboding and dread. Once it was decided to create a film from the live dance, the theme of water became the central one which tied everything together. As humans we are largely made of water, so almost literally water is life. These days threats to this vital resource are coming from all kinds of human activities - not just from nuclear radiation as in Japan and elsewhere, but also from things like mineral/resource extraction, herbicides, pesticides, and human/animal waste. Pure water sources which people have always relied on can suddenly become undrinkable. Beyond this central water theme, the film, like the original live dance, can be seen as an allegory for the fragility and unpredictability of life - the dangers of complacency, and how nothing should be taken for granted.