French musician Étienne de la Sayette has built a distinctive musical world traversing jazz, Ethiopian music, Korean traditional music, and experimental music. In Korea, he gained attention for reinterpreting singer Bae Ho's music. Recently, he formed trio "Tako Toki," experimenting with new sounds using instruments made from industrial waste and recycled materials. He seeks to restore the senses that become music's source through repetitive labor of caring for family, animals, and gardens, aiming to practice harmonious coexistence of human and non-human beings through music.

Musician and performance artist Étienne de la Sayette tends a garden like no other. In this small world, shared with turtles, cats, birds, and flowers, live his Korean wife and their child—all integral parts of the ecosystem. Instruments, gear, and clothing crafted from discarded scraps overflow from the garage, where impromptu concerts erupt in bright, infectious rhythms that echo the tempo of daily life. In this self-contained universe, where nothing is wasted and nothing is threatened, the family’s ecological way of living offers a gentle invitation to rethink how we relate to objects, time, and each other. 

Etienne's Garden is at once a music film and an artist portrait. Étienne’s nomadic repertoire—spanning jazz, Korean traditional music, and experimental sound—meets instruments built from waste, creating a strange and enchanting ensemble with his trio. Director Kim Minjung treats the garden’s nonhuman inhabitants as characters in their own right, crafting lively scenes from a true ecologist’s perspective and finding a profound joy in radical simplicity. Ultimately, the film celebrates the romantic bonds between all beings and the flowering of art in unexpected places, offering viewers a refreshingly new cinematic experience.

For the artist Étienne, the garden is a source of music, nature a daily inspiration, and life’s rhythms as a creative force. This film explores his distinctive musical world and his philosophy of art, both rooted in the pursuit of a sustainable future. In a digital age that pulls us away from the tangible, Étienne’s story reminds us of the profound meaning found in repetitive labor and simple acts of care. The small insights that bloom in his garden invite us to reawaken the precious senses we can’t afford to lose—and to imagine the world we instinctively long to return to.

• Producer최홍준 CHOI Hongjun
• Cinematography 최홍준 CHOI Hongjun
• Edit 김민정 KIM Minjung
• Sound 최홍준 CHOI Hongjun
• Music 에티앤 드 라 싸이애뜨 Etienne DE LA SAYETTE
• Cast 에티앤 드 라 싸이애뜨 Etienne DE LA SAYETTE