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In Their Own Words: The Women of Kurokawa

A documentary exposing the sexual violence euphemistically termed "entertainment" inflicted on women of the Kurokawa settler group during Japan’s imperialist expansion in Manchuria. Under state-led colonization in the 1930s–40s, Japanese settlers occupied Chinese lands. In August 1945, facing the Soviet invasion, the group offered 15 women to enemy troops in a desperate act of survival. Decades later, the survivors confront the silenced legacy of imperial violence, discrimination, and trauma. Directed by Fumie Matsubara, with narration by Shinobu Otake.

In Their Own Words: The Women of Kurokawa

NR 2025
Campaign 2

In response to the Fukushima disaster, Yama-san is running an election campaign with an anti-nuclear message. But unlike last time, he has no money, no machine, no nothing. Does he even stand a chance? On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced one of the most calamitous nuclear disasters in history. But in two national elections following the accident, the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) achieved landslide victories, gaining control of the two parliaments. Why? 'Campaign 2' by Kazuhiro Soda observes a small local election right after the disaster and gives insight into this difficult question, presenting a microcosm of Japan's political-psychological landscape.

Campaign 2

5.7 2013
Bullfight in Okinawa

Chris Marker’s Bullfight in Okinawa is a bizarre, 4 min documentary that introduces viewers to Japan’s subterranean past time of bullfighting. Part of Markers five-film “Bestiary” series, Bullfight employs observational documentary techniques and, in particular, Marker’s camerawork is impressive — tight framed shots, free-hand pans, and quick zooms all contribute to the film’s urgent sense of tension — and, if it weren’t for the suspense inducing music, this short-gem would be damn close to pure objective documentary cinema.

Bullfight in Okinawa

3.0 1994
Buck-Tick Phenomenon - New World I

Since their debut in 1987, BUCK-TICK has been at the forefront of the rock scene with their unchanging lineup. With their unique presence and continuing to produce outstanding works, they have been a "dream" for not only rock fans but also musicians. However, their journey has not always been smooth sailing. This work is a documentary film directed by Yuichiro Iwaki that follows the band for two full years, from their Nippon Budokan performance on December 29, 2021 to December 29, 2023, centered on their 35th anniversary since their debut. From recording scenes that you can't usually see, to backstage at concerts, to interviews by the director, you can see the members' serious and peaceful expressions as they face music.

Buck-Tick Phenomenon - New World I

10.0 2025
Ambivalent Future: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Initially, Ambivalent Future was intended as a film about the production of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Bright Future". But director Fujii has taken the "behind the scenes"-concept to unprecedented heights with this unique documentary offering a close look into the world of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the auteur. Scenes from the surprisingly low key and relaxed production of "Bright Future" are of course sprinkled liberally throughout the documentary, but between these we are treated to interesting and revealing interviews with actors, producers and Kurosawa's many other collaborators. And perhaps the most surprising thing of all is how much of Kurosawa there is, talking candidly about his working methods and the philosophy behind it all.

Ambivalent Future: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

NR 2003
Mirror of the Bride

In the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan, the director Yuki Kawamura's grandmother gets placed into a retirement home. For various reasons, none of her children can or want to welcome her into their own house, but some of them come to visit her at the nursing home. Little by little we get to discover the complexity of this family through interviews and family reunions. And as life goes on, with its share of weddings and births, the grandmother faces the end of her life, giving us the opportunity to reflect upon death and the relationship between a mother and her children.

Mirror of the Bride

NR 2013
Encyclopedia of a Drifter

Nagaremono zukan is a documentary video, release from V&R Planning (AV). "Flower Picture Book" is the second work in the bicycle trilogy after Yumika. A very private sexual movie with Tomoko Matsunashi, right after Hirano broke up with Yumika. The violence of the camera is clearly increasing. If Yumika was the light, Nagaremono zukan is the shadow. There are two version of Nagaremono zukan, the censored one and the original hardcore one, with additional scenes, better quality and longer runtime.

Encyclopedia of a Drifter

NR 1998
After the Snowmelt

A dazzling and unconventional documentary where a filmmaker explores their first experience of great loss after her best friends Chun and Yueh go missing. Trapped in a cave in Nepal for 47 days, Yueh survives. Chun does not. Yi-Shan offers an intimate window into the complex relationship of survivors as she traverses the intricate terrain of grief and gender with Yueh. Their conversations are steeped in themes of guilt, perseverance, and identity as they navigate Chun’s legacy with ease, even as elders around them fail to acknowledge their friend’s queerness/transness posthumously.

After the Snowmelt

7.5 2024
Yamakoshi: The Recovery of a Tiny Japanese Village

The Great Chuetsu Earthquake which struck Niigata Prefecture on October 23, 2004 is permanently engraved in the memories of most Japanese people today. Hardest hit was the small mountain village of Yamakoshi, located right above the quake’s epicentre. What has become of the villagers who suffered through this disaster seven years ago? This film enters the hearts and minds of the people of Yamakoshi as they pull together over four hard years to rebuild their village, their community, and their lives.

Yamakoshi: The Recovery of a Tiny Japanese Village

NR 2009
Outlaw-Matsu Comes Home

“In Search of Unreturned Soldiers was about former soldiers of the Japanese army who chose not to return to Japan after the war. I found several of them who had remained in Thailand. Two years later, I invited one of them to make his first return visit to Japan and documented it in Outlaw-Matsu Returns Home. During the filming, my subject Fujita asked me to buy him a cleaver so that he could kill his ‘vicious brother.’ I was shocked, and asked him to wait a day so that I could plan how to film the scene. By the next morning, to my relief, Fujita had calmed down and changed his mind about killing his brother. But I couldn’t have had a sharper insight into the ethical questions provoked by this kind of documentary filmmaking.” —Shôhei Imamura

Outlaw-Matsu Comes Home

6.3 1973
Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara

This film is about the journey that the artist Yoshitomo Nara took along with Hideki Toyoshima and graf AtoZ team, and the others who contributed to the creation of his exhibit AtoZ in Nara's hometown of Hirosaki, Japan. This personal documentary allows one to get a glimpse of the artist's nature, creation process, where Nara came from and where he stands now, plus valuable images of the never-to-be-seen-again fictitious town A to Z and allows one to relive it once again.

Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara

5.0 2007
Kobe Shinbun no Nanokakan

Also known as the "Kobe earthquake," the massive earthquake struck the southern Hyogo prefecture on January 17, 1995 and resulted in more than 6,400 casualties. The drama will focus on the reporters working for the Kobe Shimbun, who were determined to keep the newspaper running without interruption, despite the damage suffered during the earthquake. The characters in the drama will all be based on real people, using their real names. Sakurai stars as the photo reporter Tomohiko Mitsuyama, who had joined Kobe Shimbun four years before the earthquake. The show will also have documentary segments such as interviews, including an appearance by Mitsuyama himself.

Kobe Shinbun no Nanokakan

NR 2010
SPYAIR Just Like This 2024

SPYAIR's annual outdoor solo live concert "Just Like This 2024" held at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo on September 29, 2024 (Sun.) is now on film! SPYAIR, who had focused on performing on the streets until their major label debut, held their first outdoor concert "Just Like This 2011" at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo. Four years later, they moved to Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest to hold "JUST LIKE THIS 2015". In 2024, "JUST LIKE THIS" will be held at its original venue.

SPYAIR Just Like This 2024

NR 2025
世界初 極北の冒険 デナリ大滑降

Actor Masato Sakai brings you an unprecedented adventure! The world's first attempt to ski down the huge cliffs of Denali (6190m), the highest peak in North America. The challenge is undertaken by 40-year-old mountain skier Daisuke Sasaki. Denali is the mountain where Naoki Uemura, the adventurer he admired, lost his life. It has long been a dream of his to face it head-on. The temperature is minus 30 degrees Celsius and the oxygen is half that of the flat terrain. Will he succeed in his descent? The 4K camera captures the powerful footage. You, too, can join in on the ultimate adventure!

世界初 極北の冒険 デナリ大滑降

NR 2017
Recipients

Shizuka Yokomizo’s video installation for the Taipei Biennial 2025 captures a quiet, personal scene: her elderly mother tending to 70 plant species on a small balcony in Tokyo. The artist observes the exchange between her mother and the plants—a system of care shaped by weather, seasons, and attentive listening. Though the plants appear indifferent, her mother sees their silence as a gift. Yokomizo reflects on the parallels between human aging and plant life cycles. The work explores care, time, and the quiet companionship between two living beings moving through life.

Recipients

NR 2025
Dokkoi! Songs from the Bottom

After the waning of the protests in Sanrizuka, Ogawa Pro started questioning the future of the collective and looking for other subjects to film. Following the method developed in the previous films, the filmmakers moved to the slum of Kotobuchi in the port city of Yokohama, where more than 6000 people were struggling to get by without any means of survival, exposed to industrial accidents and diseases. The result is one of the most moving films produced by the collective, a series of beautifully filmed portraits, voicing the silenced stories and songs of a group of people living in this community. Credit: ICA London

Dokkoi! Songs from the Bottom

NR 1975