Discover Movies

SHO made this movie with the strong desire to push the backs of people who are fighting for some goals and dreams, and those who are in a harsh environment or in adversity.

Pai Hsien-yung has lent Chinese-language literature some of its most colorful and most memorable characters, and served as the inspiration of multiple generations of artists working in mediums as different as television, film, and theatre. From the youthful air of the Modern Literature magazine, which he helped launch at the age of 22, to the humanistic sincerity in his recent works My Father and the Republic and Healing the Pain, Pai looks back on his 29 years teaching at Santa Barbara, a four-decade relishing of Guilin rice noodles, and a return visit to the gardens of Suzhou after 10 years. Through the darkened realm of the stage, to the countless lectures and courses he taught, Pai has been at the forefront of literature for multiple generations, with his unique blend of resilience and tenderness reverberating through the film, and bringing audiences closer to his warmth as a novelist.

The story of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami as told through news footage and eyewitness video footage.

In the wake of cataclysmic regional change in the artist's homeland of Hong Kong, Simon Liu’s Cinema-Strobo-Scopic film features a laborious sequence of analogue darkroom practices and dense shrouds of video processing techniques which actively work to both conceal and reappraise approaches to personal expression in the face of censorship. Times ahead and behind collide - a new linearity is in need of; the glittering lore of the way things were, generations lost to resolution errors. Sifting through new realities of misinformation, digital consciousness, and cultural disappearance, "Single File" seeks new lexicons of disobedience through formal experimentation.

This is a story about a Japanese photographer and his journey to discover his roots. As a child, his name was “Tooi”. Born and raised in Thailand, he was suddenly taken to Japan when he has eight years old and became Japanese with the name, “Masato”. The reason was his father had been a “Zanryu Nihonhei”. “Zanryu Nihonhei” were Japanese soldiers who didn’t or couldn’t return to Japan after the war’s end for various reasons. A big reason was Japan’s defeat. It’s believed there were 10,000 across Asia and the former Soviet Union, with 1,000 in Thailand alone. The exact number remains unclear. His father was also among them. When “Masato” was 28, he travelled back to Thailand where he was born. And he remembers his past and words.

Before the pandemic, I did a series of street shoots in Wanhua, a place out of my comfort zone. Then, I got Covid-19. During the quarantine, I looked back at the photos, wondering if the people are doing well or not. I seemed to have a shared time with them, so I returned to Wanhua with the question: Do you know where is Zhen Zhen now? I let the residents tell their stories.

In Korea, when things go wrong in the household, the housewife may consult a shaman to determine if the problem is caused by an angry god or ancestor. The occupation of shaman is female dominated and holds a dual reputation in contemporary Korean society. In one respect, shamans are considered lewd women who promote superstition; in another, they are seen as keeping alive the religious ideals of the past. The film follows one woman's trials from when she felt destined to be a shaman through her two-day initiation ceremony. The emotional impact of the ceremony, which is apparent throughout, reaches a climax during the ritual of the 'knife riding general' in which the initiate stands barefoot on knife blades in order to receive the spirits and speak in their voices.

The story is about Lao Jia, a farmer on Chongming Island, Shanghai. On this island, he applies natural farming to show his wish and love to the land. Lao Jia calls himself a natural farmer. He left the metropolis Shanghai and his wife LiZi for Chongming Island three year ago. There Lao Jia contracted a farmland of about 25 acres. Without using any fertilizers or chemicals, he believes in his land and tries to plant with an ancient agriculture philosophy of returning the land to nature, which is the so called natural farming. Lao Jia said: “Farming helps people to find back some simple but real things in life, and the farmers’ emotions will in return affect the land and the plants.” Now there are many people who agree with his idea. But the reality is cruel, when Lao Jia described to me his wish to his land, problems keeps cropping up to test his attitude of “re-discovering the love to land”.

Wang Wo’s experimental documentary takes the direct cinema approach to the realm of avantgardism, immersing the viewer in a non-narrative, highly sensory experience of urban China in its visual and aural splendor.

Just before Lee Seungyoon became famous after winning the music audition program Sing Again, two women just went to “Unknown-musician” Seungyoon without any notice. One day in 2018, the two, who were going through a very tough time, happened to listen to his song and it healed their wounded hearts. After two years, they boldly suggest him to make his music video without any experience. Starting with the ridiculous proposal, their adventurous journey begins.

It's estimated over a million Japanese live as "hikikomori," recluses totally withdrawn from society. Some hikikomori may even go for decades without leaving their house. While in the past the phenomenon was most commonly associated with young men, recent data has revealed a much wider demographic of people whose confidence in themselves, and in society, has been shattered. As the parents or relatives hikikomori so often depend on entirely become too old to care for them, many now face a dire situation, left alone and unable to cope.

A look at the creation of “evangelion: Another Impact.”

Wang Bing filmed "Traces" in 2005, during the search for locations for his film "The Ditch", in former « labour camps » in the Gobi Desert, where thousand of political prisoners had died of hunger. For the first time, he used 35mm black and white film (a gift from artist Yang Fudong) to capture this landscape condemned to disappear. With no sound, the film records the final, barely visible traces of human lives: bones, clothing, footsteps... Drawing on experimental documentary, this short video echoes other subjects dear to Wang Bing : the story of the campaign against the « rightist elements » in the early 1950s and the reeducation and hard labour camps established before the Cultural Revolution. This film, which was not edited until 2014, was first presented at the Centre Pompidou the same year and then again at the Galerie Chantal Crousel in 2018.

Behind the scenes/making of footage from Toshiaki Toyoda's Blue Spring, starring Ryuhei Matsuda, Hirofumi Arai and Sousuke Takaoka.

An examination of the Constitution of Japan and the possibility of its revision.

The 62-year-old Meng Jinfu is the last shaman of the Orogen ethnic group in China. He and his wife Ding Quiqin live in the deep forest of the Greater Xing'an Mountains all year round and live a primitive life. In the 1950s, the Chinese government helped Orogen people relocate from the forest to settlements. However, Meng Jingfu who had lived in the forest since childhood, eventually returned there with his wife and made a living by hunting. Though his life is difficult, he has been happy since childhood in the forest. But since then area has been deforested and the animal population has decreased, Meng Jinfu has been worried. The resettlement under the mountain has fundamentally changed the customs of the Orogen people.

A total of 17 journalists have been fired since 2008, the beginning of LEE Myung-bak’s presidential term. They fought against the companies that they worked for succumbing to power and are now frustrated at reality where censorship of the press by authority has now become a norm. Can they continue their activities as journalists?

Moms are unsung superheroes. They work 24/7, 365 days a year, with no paid time off. They take care of household chores, look after their children, try to finish their graduate degree, and maintain a marital relationship. Twenty-four hours a day is hardly enough for them. Writer-director-mother Chuan-Ying Liao uses a GoPro camera to record eight days of her life as mother.

Film festivals in Japan are being forced to cut back or fold. In 2006 the operation of Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, celebrating almost two decades of history, was transferred from the city government to an incorporated non-profit organization. Focusing on volunteer members of the YIDFF Network, who left their mark during the inaugural festival, director Iizuka Toshio films the festival staff who are caught in the dilemma of servicing the local community and maintaining the standards of an international film festival.

A footage inside Siriraj Hospital on the day that King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away.

There are two large talent markets in a Shenzhen called Sanhe in Longhua District, Shenzhen. In the alleys around the market, there are small hotels, small supermarkets, and cheap Internet cafes. Many young people live here for a long time, and they may not have ID cards. Perhaps they are burdened with huge debts, and some of them cut off contact with their families and linger in Internet cafes all day long. They have become popular on the Internet with the survival method of "you can play three days a day, one day."

The happy lives of Haengdang-dong residents are overturned when their land is slated for redevelopment.

In November 2022, the lockdown measures in Wuhan city became increasingly strict. A group of trailer workers dragged their carts through the metal barriers. This absurd game seemed endless, but an unexpected protest changed everything.

Franco Mella is a devoted figure whose life bridges Catholicism and Communism. He has journeyed through Asia, lived simply, and fought for social justice, notably within Hong Kong's protest history as depicted in "Ordinary Heroes" (1999). Mella's path weaves through religious and revolutionary movements, from church beginnings to Communist activism and the Handover, always driven by his missionary spirit and communist ideals. For four decades, he has steadfastly championed the oppressed, undeterred by shifting politics, expressing solidarity through music and protest, and remaining a symbol of wisdom and resilience for the people of Hong Kong.

The Chinese government is sponsoring a national campaign on "equal" education. UNDER THE SAME SKY documents school children in the city as well as the country to compare the two educational experiences. UNDER THE SAME SKY had been nominated for best short documentary at the 2017 Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2017 St. Louis International Film Festival, Long beach indie Film Festival and Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival. It's also been shown and won awards at 15 other film festivals around the world, including the Cannes Short Film Corner and The Impact Docs Awards.

Technology and spirituality are parallel forces in an abandoned and possibly haunted Chinese amusement park taken over by outsider artists. An enigmatic work of a great, dark beauty.

She never gave up on her dreams. Ingrid Fuzjko Hemming had many ups and downs and experienced moments no one should endure, but never stopped reaching higher and higher to become the musician she (and her mother) wanted her to become. Traveling the world and having one foot in either of two worlds, Hemming's ultimate agony arrives with the loss of her hearing.

This documentary was filmed in Ishinomaki, a city with a population of about 170,000 in Miyagi Prefecture, located on the Pacific coast in northeast Japan. The mega earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, 2011 devastated the city leaving 3,943 people dead or missing. Among them, 182 were elementary school children. With an earthquake and tsunami that no one had experienced, at that time, how did those at the school judge, handle, and act on the situation? What did the teachers do? How did the children react? What did the parents and family members of the children do? 37 people affiliated with Kadonowaki Elementary School in Ishinomaki were interviewed about the events of the day of March 11 from 2:46 to the following morning.

Stunning shots of food prep add to this portrait of Thai-born, Orlando-based chef Tawatchai Chavitranurak, a gastronomic artist with experience in Western cuisine and a love of the culinary arts.

Matsumoto's early video work Murder Catalogue, but there were few opportunities to be screened at that time since it dealt with a grotesque image. Digitized a half-inch videotape he had kept in his studio. It is a work that shows the original form of a mysterious narrative that later appears well in Matsumoto's work, as it is constructed to repeat an event through long-term filming of a video and monologues by a cassette tape recorder. A photograph is placed in front of the video camera by one by one and the camera zooms in mechanically towards the images. Also, in Matsumoto's voice, a short monologue about the photos recorded on the tape is played. However, the voice is suddenly cut off by the sounds of hitting and the screams of the terminal, followed by the camera starting to expand the different images in the same way, and the voice of the recorder is played over and over again. - Ex-Is

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.

“Have we ever been to Matsu?” Does this question trigger some mental images, such as flashing postcards inside our mind, or memories of shared photographs through social media? How do we build a landscape of an island? By modifying the geography or by spreading its visual representations? Let’s replace the first inquiry with another one: “Have we ever listened to Matsu?”What would we listen to first? Who would we listen to? What do people in Matsu listen to? As islanders, do they listen to the sounds of the sea or to the sounds of the neighboring country? Is there any document we can listen to about Matsu? Just like images and the internet conspired to transform our vision and memory, may recorded sounds could alter our listening, and therefore our perception of these islands?

With the following motivation: Every brick in the great wall of China was carried up by a man. More than 800,000 men, for more than 20 years. As we follow the reconstruction of a very small part of that old wall, we feel the dimension and Sisyphean effort carried out almost 2000 years ago. At the same time, this small part of the wall portrays the different social classes and transformations of modern China. A society that moves from the collective ideals to the personal capitalist aspirations of individuals.

The word “Manshin” refers to a shaman who are considered an intermediary between gods and humans. Kim Keum-hwa, Korea’s most famous shaman, is also a world-renowned Korean traditional dancer and a religious figure respected by the Vatican. The documentary tells the story of her fascinating life journey from a girl forced to take a job she never asked for to becoming a living national treasure.

In South Korea, getting into a prestigious university is a measure of success. In this ‘strange country’, the majority of people run toward the same goal. But there are ‘Alices’ who have taken the bold step of stepping on the brakes in their life and choosing a different route from the conventional path. Korean youth who have embarked on a journey in search of the “freedom to look sideways” offer these encouraging words of comfort to all of us who are determined to push forward, not knowing how to slow down.

Experiences of 6 diverse "ABC"'s (American-born Chinese) who, for a variety of reasons, decided to leave jobs, homes, and families in the US and make Beijing their home.

“If there is any chance, I will let him live well No matter where he is.” The old lady cried and said that when I was visited her and her husband one year ago. Her heartfelt wishes are my motivation, I know that I am going to create this documentary work - the son.

How does a dream become a reality after 10 years? Prof. Cheng and his students at the National Taiwan University built a solar car, and the team competed in the 2005 World Solar Challenge in Australia. They overcame great difficulties along the way, and achieved fifth place in the 3,000-km race through the Outback. However, the finishing line was certainly not the end of their story. For More Sun II continues their story and shows us where they are heading NOW.

During Luo Bing's second return to his village, Ren Dingqi finally accepts to showhim his memoirs.

Early experimental PR "cine-poem" by Toshio Matsumoto. Commissioned by Kansai Electricity, the film paints an abstract, near-wordless retelling of the development of power stations in Japan, through to the presumed oncoming advent of nuclear power.

Documentary footage of indigenous Pacific islanders.

Sequel to 'แด่สิ่งที่ไม่แปรเปลี่ยนชั่วนิรันดร์ (2020)', The third installment of the documentary that continues to follow the lives and concepts of a group of street art artists who paint King Rama IX in various buildings during the monsoon political conflicts that are getting more intense everywhere.

The true horror that will strike you if you survived the great prophecy of Nostradamus! The existence of evil spirits and so factors, characteristics. A doll of a girl whose hair grows. Psychic verification! How to avoid being possessed by evil spirits...?

A documentary looking back on the series from start to finish

Ge Ningning performs a series of solo dances.

Seeking their best "sound" is why people gather into a small jazz cafe BASIE nowhere in the world at Ichinoseki, North East county in Japan. It seems a sanctuary for global jazz players, fans, and audio maniacs. Filming BASIE owner Sugawara Shoji tuning a 50-year-old JBL speaker everyday, stock footage became more than 150 hours.

"A Love Letter to Oneself" describes six young men and women who play roles that are 80 years apart from the Japanese rule and the Republic of China era, concatenating the different identities of the 1930s and 2010s, comparing the two The generational differences in occupations, lifestyles, concepts, and political environment profile the influence of the development of Taipei’s West District on Taiwan’s history.

his is a home video about a family that specializes in Fengshui. There have been 11 generations and most of the men in this family have carried on the geomantic craft. In the calamitous year of 2008, the 90 years old grandfather, the ninth generation successor of the family, celebrated the birth of his two great-grandchildren while burying his own son who died of cancer. The documentary centers around the family and shows different viewpoints of Chinese to all kinds of death. The name of the film, Wind flower Snow Moon, is actually the name of the coronach that the geomancers sing when they worship Buddha in the funeral. It suggests that life is eventually emptiness from birth, aging, illness to death. In the meantime, people struggle to live in the present.

Point of view from Balcony, Some people are doing something.

With the form of remote audio conversation for its main narrative, the essay film consists of four chapters, each of which has its own focus but is also interconnected with each other. Blending voice narratives in four languages, moving images and literary texts, the film is mainly made from home video collections created in the 1990s from both filmmakers’ families, with home videos shot in the 1960s by a Hong Kong family as interludes. The film not only unfolds how East Asian families created their own image with amateur filming devices but also tells stories of migration, travelling, growing and familial relationships.​

What are labor movement leaders of the 1980s and ’90s doing today, 20 years later? This film begins with the daily lives of four middle-aged Korea Telecom laborer “ajussis.” They “live,” hanging off of utility poles, making repairs below manholes, eating lonely meals of soup and rice, making sales, and getting on the red-eye train once a week to see their families. They are within us and among our neighbors, quietly living day by day. But the moment they start talking, what they do becomes more than just “living.” That’s because they have all dreamed of a world for laborers, fighting against Korea Telecom’s unfair layoff program, in the past, present and future.