Filmmaker Ryusei Iizuka Rivas (they/them) captures the spiritual and creative rebirth of Tokyo-born artist Maya Hirasawa Brauer (they/them). Filmed across New England and Tokyo, Tempering Color blends archival family video with intimate, observational studio footage. Granted unprecedented access as the artist's spouse, Iizuka Rivas explores how the loss of Maya’s grandmother catalyzed The Ten Realms—an exhibition translating Buddhist teachings on grief, devotion, and the fluid human condition into atmospheric oil canvases.

Tempering Color – The Meditations of an Oil Painter (2026)

September 19, 2026 12 min

Documentary

Director: Ryusei Iizuka Rivas

Filmmaker Ryusei Iizuka Rivas (they/them) captures the spiritual and creative rebirth of Tokyo-born artist Maya Hirasawa Brauer (they/them). Filmed across New England and Tokyo, Tempering Color blends archival family video with intimate, observational studio footage. Granted unprecedented access as the artist's spouse, Iizuka Rivas explores how the loss of Maya’s grandmother catalyzed The Ten Realms—an exhibition translating Buddhist teachings on grief, devotion, and the fluid human condition into atmospheric oil canvases.

Director

Ryusei Iizuka Rivas

Cast

Maya Hirasawa Brauer Self/Documentary Subject

User Reviews (1)

marikoiizuka3266826 September 29, 2026

I watched this film at the Dare to Imagine Film Festival in Lowell MA. I was moved to see how the director went deep inside the artist's motivations for their creation. The quality of the use of light and sound is amazing. Silence and sounds are intertwined very effectively, inviting viewers to the world of spirituality. It was a very worthwhile 12 minutes.