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A renowned old hotel near Nagoya Station has been in the red for four consecutive fiscal terms. When the old management stepped down, Akio Shibata, who has long been in the board of the labor union, is appointed its new general manager. Shibata's method for reviving the hotel consists of neither the laying off of the staff nor the introduction of performance-based system. He wants everyone to take part in the making of new management plans and for all employees to lodge together and engage in heated discussions about their management dreams all night. Yes, his management ideal is to "have the happiest employees in Japan" working in their hotel. He throws birthday parties for employees and has company cafeteria remodeled. All these changes bring about yet another change in the mind of everyone.

About three women in search of a home return to South Korea after an absence of more than thirty years. In the 1970s, they left everything behind in order to go to Germany as "guest workers." Although assimilated in their new country, they long for the old one. Now they are able to realize their dream of returning with their German husbands to Dogil Maeul, the German village that has been created for people like them. Situated in a picturesque bay, the village is indeed more German than Germany--there is even whole meal bread and Frankfurter sausages. This is the new-old home to which their sixty something husbands Armin, Willi and Ludwig have come in the hope of spending their remaining years. However, there is still something missing for the three women as they discover it is not so easy to pick up where they left off.

‘Siot’ is an animal experimental researcher and vegan, ‘Dalyeon’ is an animal liberation activist and an animal tested pill taker. What do the two different worlds say to each other?

In this 1993 video interview, filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan at Tokyo’s Haiyuza Theatre, director Masaki Kobayashi talks to fellow filmmaker and longtime Kobayashi admirer Masahiro Shinoda (DOUBLE SUICIDE) about THE HUMAN CONDITION.

Guided by Kim Maeja（金梅子）, a leading figure of contemporary Korean dance active on the international stage, this documentary traces the life of dancer Choi Seung-hee（崔承喜）, whose fate was shaped by the turbulence of her era. Born in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, Choi studied modern dance under Baku Ishii（石井漠） and gained acclaim through performances in Japan and the West during the 1930s, before disappearing from public view in the mid-1960s.

The film shows demonstrations against building the second airport in Jeju Island the performances of environmentalists very closely and in detail, by which it develops a desperate love story.

Tadao Ando (b.1941) is a world-renowned architect, and a recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. His calm, minimalist architecture with elegant concrete designs reflects the Zen principle of simplicity. In the film he reveals the experience a building should evoke, as he discusses a number of iconic designs, such as The Row House and The Church of Light.

In northeastern China the Songhua River flows west from the border of Russia to the city of Harbin, where four million people depend on it as a source of water. Songhua is a portrait of the varying people that gather where the river meets the city, and an ethnographic study of the intimate ways in which they play and work.

My mother left our home in Korea when I was 7 years old. I lived as if our father’s new wife was our real mother. My first name changed, we moved, I enrolled in a new school. My mother was a fallen woman never to be talked about. I could only stare at holes cut out of family photos, knowing it was her. Years later, now a filmmaker in France, I suddenly started having vertigo attacks that prevented me from working - my brain was deleting one of my eyes’ two images instead of merging them. As my world span, my thoughts returned to the blind spot in my existence: my mother. I learnt my father accused her of adultery, a crime in Korea until 2015. Sentenced to 8 months in jail, with no support from her family, she had to resign as a teacher and didn’t own a place to live. What was it like to be stamped an ill-reputed woman and shunned by 90’s Korean society?

Shot in Cambodia and borrowing a title and a punk sensibility from Qiu Miaojin’s classic queer novel, Daphne Xu’s Notes of a Crocodile follows an unnamed woman who roams the streets of a Phnom Penh in flux, encountering humans and animals in her search for a lost friend.

A documentary by Nobuo Ōnishi, who follows the people living in the area where Tokuyama Dam is planned to be built. In 1957, talk arose that Japan's largest dam would be built in Tokuyama Village, Gifu Prefecture. While the residents moved to new locations, some elderly families returned to Tokuyama Village, wanting to continue living there for as long as possible. Ōnishi, who grew up in the Ibi District, was fascinated by the lives of those elderly people and continued to photograph them for 15 years until the village sank to the bottom of the dam.

A woman who is caught up in capitalism needs a victim to complete her love.

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.

Sono's first film, 30 minutes long and shot on 8mm. A free-wheeling intimate cinematic journal in which the artist contemplates his life as he approaches his birthday.

On July 24, 2012, I drove to a city to cheer three local independent candidates and human right activists. While doing these things, we found ourselves tailed. At 12:00 at night, some policemen came to our room and started the so-called room inspection.

There is an old cinema in Wonju, and some people want to preserve the historic cinema. But the mayor wants to demolish a 60-year-old cinema. How will this story end? No matter how it ends up, Wonju Academy Cinema is a film about people who love old and historic single-screen cinema.

A film about Chinese underground filmmakers who were the first to express their truthful and realistic views on China from 1989 until today. It is also the first film to speak about the Chinese homosexual film scene. The documentary features Chinese intellectuals and directors such as Cui Zi’en, Jia Zhangke, Ju An Qi, Li Yu, Liu Bingjian, Liu Hao, Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang Yuan.

TV documentary about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and its safety concerns in 1976.

One of the most popular forms of entertainment in contemporary japan is the "manga". The work is usually translated as "comics" in English, but mangas are not limited to the publishing industry alone. In fact, this art form has extended its popularity into almost every communication media such as movies, records, television, ect.

A documentary is an interview that asks questions. With an emphasis on femininity female-male as I interviewed her I wanted to express the "Femininity" in my male body. The movie is like a superposition of the thoughts and feelings of two people who have "femininity" in their hearts as I interviewed her. I would also like to have a voice to express my opinion. In the hopes that someone will come to interview about a life that has been overlooked because the body is not a "woman".

Cameraman Yonesaku Kobayashi (1905-2005) is a pioneer of scientific films of Japan. He and producer Sozo Okada made many scientific educational films, and in 60's - 70's, many avant-garde composers composed music for these films.

On October 23, 1992, there was an improvised performance in the small auditorium of Washington in St. Louis, USA, without a separate stage and fancy equipment or effects. With the front floor of the small auditorium as the stage, there are only small lights, props, and various lines that illuminate the stage in front with a chair and an amplifier.

In December 1969, the band Zuno Keisatsu (The Brain Police) was formed, with Panta and Toshi as its core members. The camera follows them for three years leading up to the band’s reunion in 2008.

Experimental documentary about Japanese experimental musician Otomo Yoshihide. Includes interviews with multiple musicians, artists, and writers as well as live footage.

In the Wulu village of the indigenous Bunun people deep in the mountains of southeastern Taiwan, a visiting Han Chinese director poses a question: "Even this unique culture will disappear sooner or later, don't you think?" The village used to be isolated by the mountains, but since a new road opened to traffic and exposed them to the outside world, the villagers have become concerned about passing on the Bunun language, music and weaving in order to protect their traditional culture.

A short documentary film about the making of Masaaki Yuasa's "Kick-Heart."

Skiers enjoy a variety of slopes. Paper film, celuloid source unknown.

After China's ban of imported plastic waste, Thailand has become a new destination for the global plastic waste from developed countries. As a result, some trash collectors quit their job and Thailand become the world's trash.

The inhabitants of the village of Xi Yang Tang lead lives of extreme poverty and hardship. The children spend most of their time looking after their little brothers and sisters, and helping their parents with everyday chores.

A Thai horror film shot on iPhone 13 Pro in low light. From Parkpoom Wongpoom, director of “Shutter” and “Alone”. Go behind the scenes to discover how the scares, stunts, and suspense were all captured using iPhone 13 Pro and its low-light camera capabilities.

Documentary commissioned by the Communist Party of China which argues that Nikita Khrushchev "lit the fire of nihilism" by criticizing predecessor Joseph Stalin in his 'On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences' speech, weakening the image of cohesive socialism in the U.S.S.R.

In his third film on life and work in the (once) heavily wooded north of China, Yu Guangyi (Survival Song) follows the lonely San Liangzi (46), who for the past ten years has been in love with a woman who doesn’t like men much. Intimate and revealing, but never rude. A moving and human portrait of a group of unemployed and above all lonely men who stayed behind when their wives moved to the city looking for work. They worked in the timber industry in the province of Heilongjiang, but deforestation has taken its toll. For instance, we see 46-year-old San Liangzi. Twelve years ago, he divorced his wife and became unemployed. For 10 years, he has had an eye on Wang Meizi, the only unmarried woman in the area. But the love is not mutual.

Li Yi-Fan’s What Is Your Favorite Primitive (2023) narrates “a death match” between the artist and their software while grappling with the production process. In a fight between social and ethical concerns, it also raises questions of image production and communication.

This documentary follows Huang Yuechuang, a 77 year-old cormorant fisherman who is the last of his generation to carry on the traditional type of fishing in rural China. Yuechuang has recently become a well known personality online since a photo of him won a Sony Award in 2012 and he is determined to show the world why it is important to keep his family tradition alive.

What kind of person will you be in an era where there are no adults and only oldies?' In Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, there is Kim Jang-ha, a herbalist who has kept the herbal medicine for 60 years. A person who gives back all his fortune to society, does not interview many people, but does not buy a piece of his own clothes in vain. Kim Jang-ha's story comes to you, who is waiting for a good adult.

A Life in Six Chapters is S. Louisa Wei’s latest documentary, devoted to the writer Xiao Jun. It can be seen as part of a series of works beginning with Storm under the Sun on the Hu Feng Affair, and includes documentaries on Wang Shiwei, the cultural critic who became one of the first intellectuals to be purged by Mao in the Yan’an period; and the writer Xiao Hong, who after a six-year common-law marriage to Xiao Jun eloped to Hong Kong, where she died a tragically early death.

Everything I saw during 2012. This work will show you the dynamic moment of changing from film image to digital image. —Takashi Makino

A prisoner of 7 years who was innocently jailed by political prosecutors looks into the case himself, and seeks the punishment of those political prosecutors who shut him away illegally by suing them. However, no one takes him seriously or even investigate the case, let alone charge them as guilty. The prisoner takes matters into his own hands... A true story about the need of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit! Anything can be done if you know the law! The citizens of Korea are not dogs or pigs! The sovereignty of the people that has been taken away by political prosecutors must be won back! A law-themed and educational true story the citizens of the Republic of Korea must see.

The documentary of the largest world tour in Japanese Music History, made into a film. Celebrating their 20th anniversary, L'Arc-en-Ciel made the challenge to have a huge scale world tour which had never heard in Japanese rock band history.

Watercolors is an omnibus documentary that highlights indie musicians who are seeking new paths and creating their own musical world.

Yu Opera is the most important local opera in Henan, China. Because of the large population migration caused by the civil war in 1949, Yu Opera went from Henan to Vietnam, and finally moved to Taiwan and took root in Taiwan. Today, Yu Opera has become a Taiwanese Yu Opera, with traditions, innovations, homesickness and local presence.

A sober exploration of this generation's hopes, dreams and fears for themselves and for post-Umbrella Movement Hong Kong.

Peep this subversive 1986 G.I.S.M. full set when they opened up for Psychic TV.

An educational documentary by Shanghai Science and Educational Film Studio about the surgery performed by Chen Zhongwei of replantating the severed right hand of a Chinese factory worker named Wang Cunbo in 1963.

Bluegrass 45, from Kobe, Japan was one of the most prolific bluegrass bands in the 1960s. Fifty years later, they reunite to retrace their 1971 tour deep in the American South. With infectious joy and humor, CALLED TO THE MOUNTAINS explores their unique musical world, as we get to know the individuals who make up the band and their connection to the music and culture that called them, accepted them, and forever changed their identities––from 5,000 miles away.

Zen priest Ittetsu Nemoto lost an uncle and two friends to suicide. It left him with deep emotional scars, and he decided to start an online support group for people with suicidal thoughts. Nowadays, he receives them in person at his temple... Each painful story paints an intriguing picture of what life on the edge can look like. Together, the portraits form a quiet plea for a broader view on the treatment of suicidal behavior.

Behind game titles such as “D” or “Enemy Zero”, Kenji Eno is a creator who was one step ahead in pushing the boundaries of storytelling in the game medium, influencing many people throughout his career. Commemorating the 10 years since his sudden passing in 2013, we will premiere a documentary gathering testimonials from people who were close to him, starting with his wife Yuka Iino, creators such as Hideo Kojima, Fumito Ueda and artists such as Pierre Taki or Tadanobu Asano.

In this program based on the book of the same name by Ishimure Michiko, Kitabayashi Tanie plays “Goze,” a blind wandering performer who drifts around the stricken region of Minamata in the wake of methylmercury contamination.

Yunlin, literally "the cloud forest", is named for its dense forest and cloudy landscape in past time. This wonderland relies mainly on agriculture and fishery. As the time passes, the forest gradually disappears but the beautiful cloud remains. The cloud forest looks the same in a different way.

A sarcastic and hilarious short archival documentary on the Korean military style, this film uses recorded footage of the Vietnam War and military educational films from the 1970s when Korea participated in the war with the U.S. As it wittily demonstrates the close connection between macho aesthetics and militarism/patriotism, it also criticizes the massacres carried out by the Korean army in Vietnam, and humorously questions a Korean society that, at the time of production, was approving the dispatch of troops to Iraq.

Filmmaker Masato Hara and his teenage son set off on a road trip, following the route of Basho's Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Cameraman Yonesaku Kobayashi (1905-2005) is a pioneer of scientific films of Japan. He and producer Sozo Okada made many scientific educational films, and in 60's - 70's, many avant-garde composers composed music for these films.

Circus of Sheng Changfu