Discover Movies

8,336 Matches Found

Like an abortion, for the very first time

The Umbrella Movement was a wave of street protests that took place in Hong Kong from September to December 2014 as a reaction to oppressive practices of the Chinese government against the citizens of Hong Kong dissatisfied with planned changes in the electoral system. In her feature film debut, To Liu captured the citizens of the western part of Kowloon, Mong Kok, whose protests might not have been as visible as those of the leading activists, but were no less important. The documentary rhythmized by opening entries and darkening of the scene, much like the director’s first film, follows two characters, a master and an apprentice.

Like an abortion, for the very first time

NR 2018
Danchi Woman

85 years old and never married, Shizu has spent the past 3 decades living in one "Danchi" - the Japanese word for public housing - and filling it with the lifetime of souvenirs that have always kept her company. When the danchi is scheduled for demolition, Shizu and neighbors must say goodbye to their homes, and move into newer danchi that are too small to hold all of Shizu's mementos. This intimate documentary captures Shizu's sense of humor, and profound nostalgia, as she sorts through relics of her past, and chooses which memories she must fit into her new home, and which ones she can let go of.

Danchi Woman

NR 2018
Faces of the Century: The Three Musketeers of Taiwanese Photography

Deng Nan-guang (鄧南光, 1907–1971), Chang Tsai (張才, 1916–1994), and Lee Ming-tiao (李鳴鵰, 1922–2013) are regarded as three of the most important prewar-generation photographers in Taiwanese photographic history, collectively known as the “Three Musketeers of Photography”. Directed by Chang Chao-Tang (張照堂), this documentary revisits their artistic trajectories, photographic styles, historical contexts, and contributions to the development of documentary photography in Taiwan. Particularly valuable are the interview segments featuring Chang Tsai and Lee Ming-tiao themselves, which preserve rare firsthand testimonies from two pivotal figures in early Taiwanese realist photography.

Faces of the Century: The Three Musketeers of Taiwanese Photography

NR 2001
As-salāmu ʿalaykum

Step into the daily life of Muslims at Longgang Mosque—from the steady rhythm of everyday routines to the solemn rituals of significant religious occasions—and witness how faith shapes and strengthens a community. Through their personal journeys and spiritual practices, the film offers insight into how Islamic cultural traditions are preserved or tested in contemporary society, and how different generations navigate questions of identity, faith, and family in their search for belonging.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum

NR 2025
In Their Traces

Sexual abuse has been characterized as a “murder of the spirit.” But is this a suffering that one person must bear alone? Beyond despair, there is hope, a faint ray of light from the spirit. A friend of the filmmaker suffers from PTSD, having flashbacks of sexual abuse. Having witnessed this, the filmmaker meets a photographer who is also a survivor and decides to make a film. The long production process lasted eight years. What is the nature of the despair, and the hope, that reside deep within these people suffering from PTSD conditions including regret, murderous impulses, depression, insomnia, detachment, and suicidal thoughts? The director appears on screen, questioning the very meaning of making this film. He tries to see light in how they live, looking upward from the depths of suffering.

In Their Traces

NR 2025
Ladies Room

At the turn of the century, China experienced drastic transformations in its socioeconomic structure and political system, which brought forth the acceptance of many concepts that had previously been opposed. These included making quick money, "selling" your body, and accepting hidden pornography. Using an inconspicuous hidden camera over the course of several days, Cui Xiuwen artfully captures how nightclub women act during this time – including dressing up, counting money, speaking to family members, and negotiating deals inside the ladies' room at one of the most popular nightclubs in Beijing.

Ladies Room

NR 2000
Oil-Coated Umbrellas: Meinung

Once essential on rainy days in Taiwan, the handcrafted oil-paper umbrella from Meinung,was not only a symbol of local craftsmanship but also a major source of livelihood. However, as Taiwan rapidly shifted toward an industrial and commercial economy in the 1980s, mass-produced plastic umbrellas replaced these meticulously made paper ones. What was once a daily necessity gradually became a nostalgic cultural artifact. Today, a handful of long-established artisans continue to follow traditional methods. With patience and precision, they craft each umbrella by hand. Though its original function has faded, their emotional bond with the craft remains unchanged. Their dedication and skilled workmanship reflect a deep-rooted respect for materials and tradition, preserving a vanishing heritage one umbrella at a time.

Oil-Coated Umbrellas: Meinung

NR 1978
Of Love & Law

Fumi and Kazu have a lot to teach us about love. When they decide to stick their necks out and create the first LGBTQ+ law firm in Japan, they are drawn into the lives of people searching for protection and support. Despite their own relationship having no legal status, they work pro-bono for long hours, all the while foster-parenting a teenager. We meet with a colourful cast of misfits, dissidents and artists – from a delightful eccentric being prosecuted for her kitschy vagina sculptures, to a troubled outsider who, as the child of an ‘immoral woman’, has no legal identity. A saying is repeated throughout the film, that one must ‘read the air’ – conform to the tacit conservatism that forbids sexual diversity. With love, humour and serious legal chops, Fumi and Kazu do exactly the opposite.

Of Love & Law

2.7 2017
Safe and Sound

The film "Safe and Sound" starts with a weekly piano class at the ward school, telling the story of several little assistant teachers with different personalities and their families' different life experiences and changes in fate. After a few years of bone marrow transplantation, the protagonists Haoxin and Qinxin choose to leave Yanjiao, where they have lived for many years, return to their unfamiliar hometown to start a new life, and return to campus.The film focuses on the daily life of themselves and their fellow leukemia patients before they left Yanjiao."Returning to Hometown for School" often means "Pressure" and "Confusion" for them. After experiencing multiple "Separations", the"Future"seemed so uncertain to them.

Safe and Sound

NR 2024
A Short Movie about Youngers in Taiwan 2001

"In 2001, I used my camera to document the experiences of two friends of mone. As I looked through the lens, I realized that their life had been slipping away, entering isolation and alienation, and we couldn't do anything about it." Two idle teenagers. How do they live their lives? Making phone calls. fixing bikes, listening to music and what else? As an objective observer, the film uses simple language to document slices of the two teenagers' lives. The teenagers' world is wild, glorious and totally bizarre...

A Short Movie about Youngers in Taiwan 2001

NR 2002
Perfect Life

Perfect Life, the second feature by Emily Tang (Tang Xiaobai), at first revolves around Li Yueying, a young woman in the cold north-east of China. In a world where no one is waiting for an untrained, inexperienced woman, she knows that in order to fulfil her dreams she will have to resort to her own stubbornness and selfishness. Her father deserted her mother and the money saved by the family is destined for her younger brother's studies. When she stops working for a shop making artificial limbs in order to take a job as a chambermaid, she attracts the attention of a mysterious criminal, Mongol. Then in the editing, the documentary story of Jenny from Hong Kong starts to emerge. She thought she had her life perfectly worked out, but when her marriage breaks down, she also finds herself in financial problems and has to fight for the custody of her children.

Perfect Life

NR 2009
The Masseurs

Anma (The Masseurs) is a representative and historical work by the creator of Butoh dance, Tatsumi Hijikata in his early period in the 1960s. The film is realized not only as a dance document but also as a Cine-Dance, a term made by Iimura, that is meant to be a choreography of film. The filmmaker "performed" with a camera on the stage in front of the audience. With the main performers: Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno, the film has the highlights such as Butohs of a soldier by Hijikata & a mad woman by Ohno. There is a story of the mad woman, first outcast and ignored, at the end joins to the community through her dance. Inserted descriptions of Anma (The Masseurs) are made for the film by the filmmaker, but were not in the original Butoh. The film, the only document taken of the performance, must be seen for the understanding of Hijikata Butoh and the foundation of Butoh.

The Masseurs

NR 1963
Yoyogi

A witty and sensitive observation of people visiting Central Park of Tokyo – YoyoGi. We all live in a world of online communication and rush, but there are places where one can still come to him/herself in offline. Following Japanese tradition of contemplation and harmony, an Estonian director explores Eastern way of finding the balance through nature and solitude. Hauki poetry, written especially by a well-known Japan-researcher from Tallinn Rein Raud add a new angle to the whole picture, turning the film into an endless meditation flow.

Yoyogi

5.0 2022
The Fall of Icarus: Narita Stories

A companion piece to The Wages of Resistance: Narita Stories, which dealt with the protests against the construction of Narita Airport. Depicts the lives of youth who fought alongside farmers against the nation state. Farmers launched a protest movement after the government decided to build a giant airport on the farming land of Sanrizuka in Narita City. Youth who believed in their ability to change the world supported the farmers' protests. Fifty years have gone by. The camera examines what used to be there and brings to light the past era buried beneath Narita Airport.

The Fall of Icarus: Narita Stories

NR 2017