With only a photograph and a name, a group of passionate puzzle players have been trying without success to answer the question: "Who is this man?" Finding Satoshi is a playful documentary that finally solves the 14 year mystery.
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With only a photograph and a name, a group of passionate puzzle players have been trying without success to answer the question: "Who is this man?" Finding Satoshi is a playful documentary that finally solves the 14 year mystery.
Although the Chinese government promised that Hong Kong would retain separate status until 2047, in recent years the Chinese state has consolidated its power over the metropolis. Large-scale protests by the populace have been brutally suppressed. This mix of documentary, fiction, and visions of the future reveals the current state of desolate depression among the people of Hong Kong. “A desperate attempt to capture the final moments of a sinking island”, as maker Chan Tze-woon himself puts it.
Drama, heritage, soul; Actor Toma Ikuta trains for his first kabuki theater performance with his long-time friend, kabuki actor Matsuya Onoe.
On July 28, 2021, the long-awaited CD debut of Naniwa Danshi was announced at Yokohama Arena during the #Naniwa Danshi Shika Katan tour, the group's first and last arena tour as Kansai Johnny's Jrs. Relive the happy, teary moment when the members were surprised with the news of their debut, not to mention their energetic performances, in this live release. "Naniwa Danshi National Championship #Oreshika Katsutan" digest is included as bonus video.
Anzai, Mutoh, Hamada, Hagiwara, and Miru are in a car headed to a love hotel used by the Sugiyama Clan for money laundering. This one night only gang succeed in robbing them blind and though they were supposed to go their separate ways after splitting the money, the five end up being hunt down by a detective hired by the clan and clan members themselves. An ending nobody ever even dreamed of.
Hinata Sato, Moka Koizumi, Manatsu Murakami, Toruka Moriya, and Aina Aiba on location in Fukui! The long-awaited Fukui location for "Hinata Sato, Moeka Koizumi's Battle Dinosaur☆" will be released on Blu-ray! The show features battles and dinosaurs at sightseeing spots such as Tojinbo and the Dinosaur Museum, and the audience enjoys Fukui Prefecture to the fullest. Manatsu Murakami and Toruka Moriya of DIALOGUE+, who have appeared on the show before, and semi-regular(?) Aina Aiba, who is good friends with the two of them, also make guest appearances.
Documentary about the Buddhist nun Setouchi Jakucho, who continued writing until her death in November 2021 at the age of 99. Features words of wisdom and personal revelations in never-seen-before footage captured by Nakamura Yu over a 17-year period. Setouchi Jakucho achieved undisputed acclaim as a feminist author with numerous semi-autobiographical novels based on personal experiences, including affairs and elopement. The film shows her attitude of fully embracing life even after becoming a Buddhist nun at age 51, which earned her wide-spread popularity in Japan.
Skate Dreams, the first feature documentary about the rise of women’s skateboarding, profiles a group of women whose pursuit of self-expression, equality, and freedom have created an international movement on and off their skateboards. From their boycott of the X-Games, to their defiance of traditional skateboarding gatekeepers, through grueling worldwide skate competitions in the run up to the Olympics, Skate Dreams showcases the charismatic personalities, indomitable spirits and amazing talent of these trailblazing pioneers.
Gekijōban Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Orchestra Concert (劇場版 「少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト」オーケストラコンサート; "Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight" the Movie Orchestra Concert) was a live concert event that took place on February 6, 2022 at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Tokyo.
Confronting half of her mother’s life—her mother who had survived the Jeju April 3 Incident—the director tries to scoop out disappearing memories. A tale of family, which carries on from Dear Pyongyang, carving out the cruelty of history, and questioning the precarious existence of the nation-state.
As a child, Victor Starffin fled the Russian Revolution and settled in Japan, where he grew up to find success as a baseball superstar. However, he constantly battled to overcome many hardships such as poverty, xenophobia, and a world war. Starffin is survived by his two daughters who take us on a wild ride of shifting identities, international rivalries, tragic love, and one heck of a fastball.
Odoriko performances are intense, sometimes acrobatic choreographies, performed in sumptuous costumes—at least, until the costumes come off, because these dancers practice the Japanese form of striptease theater. The art was once popular, but is now seen only in a few clubs in the country. Filming on mini-DV tape, as if he is not actually in the room, director Yoichiro Okutani observes the unusual, traditional profession of the odoriko and the contrast with the modern, everyday questions the women struggle with.
Acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa has been misunderstood. Despite his public perception an a perfectionist who would clash with anyone in his way, the real Kurosawa was actually a very gentle and soft-spoken director. This documentary depicts the human being Akira Kurosawa on the set of his masterpiece "Ran".
Zombie Land Saga LIVE ~3D Virtual Franchouchou Live & Illusion!!~ is a two-part event that took place in late October 2022 at Makuhari Messe. The first part consisted of a Franchouchou concert, with the seven zombie idols appearing as newly designed 3D virtual characters. The concert was carried out by several segments where most of the series' songs were sung and intermissions showed some magic tricks on the screen where the event was projected. As in the promotional image, they wore their idol costumes from the final episode of the show's second season, ZOMBIE LAND SAGA REVENGE. The second half of the event was a talk show with live appearances by Kaede Hondo (No.1/Sakura), Asami Tano (No.2/Saki), Risa Taneda (No.3/Ai), Maki Kawase (No.4/Junko), Rika Kinugawa (No.5/Yugiri), and Minami Tanaka (No.6/Lily). Where numerous questions were asked to the voice actresses about curiosities of the series.
A film on the meaning of art, Session 1: Kingdom of Inertia, Session 2: 4.6 Billion Years of Solitude
Live is Smile Always, Eve&Birth: The Birth at Nippon Budokan. Performance and documentary release surrounding LiSA’s 10th anniversary show at Nippon Budokan in April 2022.
Glimpse into the world of the songstress known as the "Rock Heroine" as she reflects on the first decade of her career and looks to the future.
Daisuke is a comedian who was excluded from TV because of his political statements. This is the story of three years filled with his challenges, suffering, and love for his family.
The second documentary for Japanese idol group Hinatazaka46.
Yuu Shinohara, Toruka Moriya, Miyu Tomita, Kaori Maeda, on location in Hakodate, Hokkaido! Internet radio station Onsen's popular original program "Yu and Kyoka's 'Atsumare! Sasamori! and "Mimyu Tomita and Kaori Maeda are waiting for your request for investigation! The collaboration location projects will be released on Blu-ray. The first project investigates legendary creatures in Hakodate, Hokkaido! What kind of creatures did they find? In addition, there are many enjoyable elements such as secret guests and narration by the popular hamster "Chuchumaru"!
Official making-of documentary for Daigo Matsui's 2021 film Just Remembering.
Spanning locations in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Hokkaido and featuring interviews with cast members and rare behind-the-scenes footage, it captures the creative collective journey of the filmmaking team.
With the city of Shinjuku as the motif, a physical urban theory is illustrated by the flesh of the dancers.
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.
Mai, an artist, and Rintaro, a bicycle builder. The two weave through their city on bicycles. A river under an overpass, the ivy in a ditch, the demolition of state housing . . . . The film follows the couple as they move about, taking pictures of whatever catches their eye. Mai believes that even these small stories from everyday encounters constitute the culture of a city and the film documents Mai’s process of incorporating these stories into her work. The film was produced as part of the “Cultural Narrative of a City” project, which strives to present the city Minato in all its delicate yet vibrant cultural diversity.
The Unnameable Dance shows the life and dance of Tanaka Min, an elderly dancer in his 70s, in a multifaceted and dynamic manner.
RETRODREAMING examines the common phenomenon of ghostly, abandoned schools due to demographic change in the countryside of Japan. Empty schools in deserted villages tell their own story: May it be during the pandemic, after a nuclear catastrophe, or just due to depopulation. The film references the Japanese tradition of telling "Kaidan "(ghost stories/scary stories) and the multiple school-themed "Kaidan "(Gakkō no Kaidan, Japanese for "Scary School Story") in Japanese mainstream culture, which encompass the idea of entities and memories remaining in these architectures. The film focuses on the visual quality of the Showa-era architecture of the abandoned Sawada School in Nakanojo. A voice from a tape recorder recalls the reality of a secret experiment during a pandemic that resulted in further mysterious events. The audiovisual experience draws the viewer into a strange, suspenseful atmosphere somewhere between an unlived retro-future, a sci-fi dream, and an unfinished mystery tale.
A sensation to indies rock scene since 2000s and actively present today among fans even during their breaks. The first full-length documentary in the band’s history starts from the production base in LA for the first album in 16 years, and navigates the stories from how they started, took break after breaking through, and reunited with nationwide fans awaited.
"Buraku" or "Buraku-min" are the terms used for ethnic Japanese people who are believed to descend from the pre-Meiji castes. Today, neither "Buraku" nor "Burakumin" exist anymore in terms of laws and social systems. However, many Japanese people still have a deep-rooted sense of discrimination towards people who descend from those families. Why does something that should not exist continue to exist? How did this discrimination begin in the first place? This film takes a variety of approaches to unravel the history of accumulated discrimination and its intricately intertwined context, from its origins and evolution, vividly depicting the structure of discrimination that often remains hidden from the public eye.
From a vast record of 750 days, 5000 hours, Official Film of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 SIDE A and SIDE B are the official documentaries by Naomi Kawase capturing not only the athletes gathered from all over the world, but also their families, people involved in the Games, volunteers, medical personnel, and protesters shouting for the cancellation of the Olympics.
Gōzō Yoshimasu is one of Japan’s leading poets, still prolific into his ninth decade. This film documents his 2019 performance of Se (‘back’), a live poetry reading set against accompaniment from avant-garde rock group Kukan Gendai. Blindfolded and wearing a facemask, Yoshimasu plays audio recordings, growls and rasps his way through a rendition of a poem, and channels every ounce of his energy into drawing, using a pane of glass as his canvas. Kukan Gendai sculpt shapes of sound in response: an entire universe thrown into sharp relief by an uncompromising contest between voice and music.
Conversation between director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, recorded in 2022.
A quiet sunset gets interrupted by a couple of mosquitoes and a voice recording of a man listing the side effects of an infamous malaria medicine.
A documentary film chronicling the rehearsal, preparation and performance of a Fishmans concert performed on February 19, 2019 @Zepp Tokyo.
Taro Okamoto (1911-1996), one of Japan's most famous artists, traveled to Okinawa in 1959 and 1966. The reason for these trips was his journey to rediscover Japan, in search of his identity as a Japanese person. More than 60 years ago, Okamoto captured the "poignant tenderness of life" of the people, and concluded: "It is in Okinawa that we can find the lost. In Okinawa, I rediscovered myself for the first time." This documentary goes on a journey through Okinawa led by Okamoto himself, 50 years after Okinawa's reversion to Japan.
MTV Unplugged Presents: Love Live! Superstar!!! Liella! Live performance of the popular fictional band Liella!!!, a performance in the hand of MTV tradition that has been inherited with the iconic title "MTV Unplugged". Apparently, a special edition in celebration of the band's accompanying anime series and with a different arrangement of songs.
An unusual, conceptual documentary that combines the director’s fascination with fungi with modern, audiovisual technologies. Using photogrammetry from hundreds of images, the assembled 3D models document the maturation of four domestically grown species of fungi, their incredibly fast growth, and also their sculptural and artistic qualities.
As the idol group traverses a post-pandemic musical landscape after over a decade in the business, the movie covers the period from July 2021-March 2022 as the group faces new challenges performing and expressing their music with fans while touching on their experiences and hopes for the future of the group
A group of uniformed Japanese schoolchildren make their way to class. But what they will be taught when they get there is a subject increasingly under government scrutiny. EDUCATION AND NATIONALISM traces growing government intervention in Japanese history and social science education over the last decade — a process embraced by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Honoka was pronounced nearly brain dead immediately after birth. She goes on various outings, has picture books read to her, takes a bath, and is aspirated. This family's precious days reveal the joys of living and labors of life.
Yamanoi is a climber who has taken on massive cliffs across the world by himself. In 2021, he received the Piolets d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor in the climbing world. But Yamanoi's journey is far from over. Through interviews with his wife Taeko, we shed light on the turbulent life of a man captivated by a 'vertical world'.
The story of Hidekazu Akai, aka "Osaka Rocky," a legendary Japanese boxer who survived a mortal injury and went on to become a famous actor.
After the untimely death of his 35-year old brother, an artist explores the questions that surfaced from grief by painting 365 paintings and to spur conversation in culture.
Have you or your partner ever had an experience where you missed your period or been “late”?
Hilarious but profound documentary, filmed at a nursery school where children enjoy "conferences" throughout a year. "Why were you born?" "How can we avoid fighting?" "Who made the universe?" "The booger tastes like kinako." The strange ideas and straightforward words that the children unfold make us laugh and sometimes surprise. Their discussion may give us full of hints for thinking about "how we live in the world without answers." Now, the world's weirdest and most important "Kids konference" by little wise men is about to begin.
This film documents the lives of two Indian women migrants who moved to Japan more than a decade ago, as a case study of the ‘trailing spouses’ concept in migration. Jyoti, 41 and Mandeep, 39, grew up in the state of Punjab, northern India, in middle-class households. They received a good education and had promising careers in India. Then, in their early 20s, they each agreed to marry men living in Japan by arrangement. The women were excited to move to a foreign country and to be with their husbands but they had no prior knowledge of Japan. Having witnessed at a distance the lives of their relatives settled in the US, UK and Canada, they had similar expectations for their own future lives in Japan. But the reality was to prove different from the expectation.
Siblings Aru, age 3, and Kino, age 1, have 3 parents: father Fumino, who is transgender; mother Honoyo, Fumino's partner who gave birth to the children; and father Gon, a close gay friend who donated his sperm. The 3 are now raising their children together, struggling repeatedly to find their own way of being a family. This program covers their first 3 years of parenting. And it asks an important question: What does it take to be a family?
Hara's new film 「焼け跡クロニクル」 is a documentary film about Hara's attempt to rebuild his life from scratch after his house burned down in 2018 and he lost all his household goods and film equipment. Co-produced with Maori Hara, his partner in both public and private life, the film combines 8mm film salvaged from the ruins of the fire with digital footage shot on an iPhone to tell the story of his recovery from the fire.
After being transported into a 19th century Edo painting, a university student discovers everyday sustainable practices from history to bring home to modern Japan.
In a country ruled by the Liberal Democratic Party, running on austerity and neoliberal ambitions, for most of its postwar years, gender and economic inequalities have become increasingly acute in Japan. Takashi Nishihara, a filmmaker who has been following the youth protests in Japan notices that there is one party that seems to be raising issues of gender and economic in the political sphere, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), a party about to enter its hundredth year and consistently burdened by its historical connotations. Though an outsider of the party, Nishihara gained unprecedented access to the JCP and driven by his interest in the younger party members who find hope in the JCP, the resulting documentary goes beyond party politics and observes the current grassroots leftist movements in Japan. It also becomes witness to the larger and deep-seated patriarchal system that continues to quell momentums of hope.
Atsushi Suwa, a realist painter, undertakes the work of drawing a portrait of a medical college student who victim of sudden death.
As they play carefree music, their musicianship is met with surprise, wonder, and sometimes even laughter. Captivating all who watch, Otoasobi Project’s rich variety of expression reshapes the concept of improvised music. Formed in 2005 in Kobe, Japan, Otoasobi Project has some 50 members, including people with intellectual disabilities, musicians, and music therapists, who pursue music and well-being through improvised performances. After many years of numerous workshops, concerts, and other activities, they even held their first tour in the UK in September 2013. The movie “Whereabouts of Sound” depicts the appeal of the improvised music Otoasobi creates, and the beauty of its natural, honest expression.
Follows Japanese director Naomi Kawase as she directs the official film of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, giving a message that goes beyond the physical exploit to mark souls, with her style and all her subtlety.