Written and directed by Veronica Ibarra, Beginner’s Mind moves beyond conventional sci-fi, presenting an art-house exploration of existence, identity, and humanity from the perspective of an android. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Tokyo, it combines visual poetry with narrative storytelling, capturing the quiet beauty of life’s fleeting moments.

Inspired by the minimalist style of Japanese cinema, Beginner’s Mind brings together the organic and the artificial, delving into Zen principles like impermanence, mindfulness, and non-attachment. As the androids navigate a chaotic human world, they reveal a pure, subjective universe untouched by human preconceptions.

An ongoing project, Beginner’s Mind follows these androids as they journey through a world both familiar and mysterious.

SHORT NARRATIVE FILMS

• Night Damage (2023)

Set in Tokyo, this recent project explores two androids as they malfunction and falter in a world that wasn’t made for them.

• Android Encounter (2023)

A contemplation on androids striving to build human-like connections amid the complexities of modern Tokyo.

• Separation (2013)

A Manchester-based art house sci-fi in which an argument strands two women in separate dimensions within the same physical space.

• The Uncertain Existence (2002)

A 20-minute film shot in London, depicting Nadia’s fractured journey through a desolate city as she captures her surroundings on film. Created as Veronica’s graduation piece at the Slade School, it was screened at numerous festivals.

• Wiro (1993)

Veronica’s debut narrative film, a sci-fi story about a man captured by his own television, made when she was 19.

 

SHORT ANIMATION FILMS

• The Snail and the Fish (2003)

A charming claymation film celebrating the simplicity and joy of life in nature.

• The Big Fish (2002)

A surreal pixilation animation featuring two humanoid creatures emerging from a giant cloth fish, encountering living objects and dolls on a Brighton beach.

• The Little Bird Flies Away (2001)

A cut-out animation following the dream of an ideal life as imagined by a caged bird.

• All This and More (2000)

A politically charged cut-out animation that uses magazine images to create satirical comedy sketches.

 

SHORT EXPERIMENTAL FILMS

• Anemona (2012)

A hypnotic exploration of an anemone’s fluid movements, influenced by the ocean’s gentle waves.

• Dual 16mm (2013)

An experimental double-screen film, presenting the same scenes shot by two filmmakers in a British forest, using hand-processed 16mm film.

• Anatidae (2013)

A meditative black-and-white study on Zen themes, filmed in 16mm and hand-processed at a home lab.

• Snow (2008)

A nostalgic, abstract piece shot in a snow-covered London garden, rendered in black and white.

• We Are Already Alive (1998)

An 80s horror-inspired piece featuring old dolls within a bleeding TV screen.