Inside the Frame: Matilda Sakamoto & Derrick Belcham on Dance and Vulnerability

At the intersection of movement and emotion lies If I Sound Happy, That’s Your Mistake—a hauntingly beautiful short dance film that premiered as part of the 2020 Dance Camera West Virtual Film Festival. In this intimate conversation, I sat down with the film’s creative duo, choreographer Matilda Sakamoto and filmmaker Derrick Belcham, to explore the delicate process of translating inner turmoil into physical expression. Blending poetic visuals with raw, evocative choreography, the film blurs the boundaries between performance and confession, asking viewers to question what happiness really looks like. Sakamoto and Belcham share their inspirations, the collaborative process behind the camera, and how they used space, silence, and subtlety to craft a story that speaks louder than words. Step inside the creative process of two artists pushing the form of dance cinema forward.