Discoveries from Asian World Cinema

Schoolteacher Yohei is married to Miyoko. For the first time in 25 years they begin to live by themselves when their son marries and moves out. Then Yohei discovers that all’s not well in his marriage.

Kei is the experienced leader of a team of pickpockets — also known as "Sparrows" in HK slang. He enjoys a carefree lifestyle taking photos. One day a dashing beauty, Chun-Lei, suddenly appears in Kei's viewfinder. Kei is mesmerized. But behind Chun-Lei's attractive facade lies a mysterious past and a mission to set herself free.

After losing his friend Poupelle, young Lubicchi wanders into a mysterious realm where a clock in a tower is frozen at 11:59. To return home, he must restart it – and find the courage to believe again.

Set in Kamakura and Busan. The Shibuyas who live in Kamakura lost their grandmother and parents in an accident. On the 23rd anniversary of the death, Tsuko suddenly reveals her plan of moving to Busan to Yoko and Ushio, so the three siblings find themselves at the crossroads of their lives.

Min-seok, with permission from his girlfriend Yoo-jeong, travels alone over the weekend. He happened to meet Ga-in, the charming hostess at the Rose Motel. The two had a hot night. Next day, upon returning from a trip, Min-seok meets his friend, Yeong-ho and had drinks. Drunk Min-seok tells Yeong-ho about the secret of the Rose Motel.

Jun Wataguchi lives a lazy, half-hearted life, not going to school, hanging out with half-witted delinquents, and begging money from his friends. His parents, who run a shipping business transporting earth and sand for reclamation by boat, manage to get by, despite the dwindling number of jobs and lack of successors over time. Jun showed no interest in his parents' business, and the father and son hardly ever spoke to each other. One day, one of Jun's friends is attacked by someone and an unexpected person emerges as the culprit.

The soaked soil, Taking the shape of a mountain, Our river, Flows into yesterday's late sun, Fish try to shun their reflection, Bubbles wrapped the words filling up the fish tank, Fish die in between the gaps of language; Banana leaves brush away the dust on the table, Lungs that refuse to be cleansed, Thermos is a container for storing the shadow of the mountain, The inner shell broken, The mountain walks away in the night; Everything is collected into a shriveled wooden drawer, Bamboo baskets piled on the concrete floor, swaying, The grey soil flowing, Filling up all the old boundaries The dried earth needs no expression, All decisiveness and hesitation lie underneath the smooth surface

After he leaves the police force, Dae-ho establishes himself as the sheriff of his town. He then investigates Jong-jin, a businessman, because of his alleged ties to drugs.

An arrogant and privileged lady of wealth finds she is in need of a loan. The man who offers to help her was a former chauffeur who she had mistreated and fired. Seeing his chance for revenge he captures her and subjects her to various humiliations and abuse.

Fai, a talented actor who has won the Best New Artist of the Hong Kong Film Awards and always plays leading roles in television, is an arrogant guy who does not cherish the opportunities given to him. As he keeps on criticizing his co-workers, his career and popularity gradually deteriorates. He is not offered leading roles anymore and has to take the parts of villains and rapists. Finally, he has even lost his job at the TV station. Fai becomes extremely depressed, but a twist of fate makes him become an agent for extras. As Fai gives pointers to a young girl named Fei, who truly loves acting, he regains his own enthusiasm towards acting and life.

An unstable lab technician develops a crush on her new assistant and uses an unscrupulous man with an unusual device to get closer to her.

Kasumi is suddenly hit by a car the night she runs away after killing her husband and her mistress. Yoichi, who was driving her car, tried to bury Kasumi, who was not moving, as instructed by her junior, Kamata, who was riding with her . was not dead. Yoichi invites Kasumi, who has nowhere to go, to her own house. From there, the strange cohabitation of a "murderer" and a "hit-and-run criminal" begins. Yoichi doesn't have a girlfriend or friends, and is always ridiculed by her juniors at work. The beautiful and free-spirited Kasumi was an angel who landed in his dull everyday life. On the other hand, Yoichi's simple kindness seemed like a faint ray of hope to Kasumi, who had fallen into an alcoholic after not getting along with her husband. Two people who depend on each other and drown in deep love. However, such a life would not last long, and ruin was creeping quietly, but surely, right next to them.

Miyamura is quiet and keeps to himself, and honors student Kyoko is cheerful and popular. They are polar opposites but both have a secret persona that no one knows about. They get to know each other after randomly discovering each other's secret side.

Continuing where the previous story left, Mechazam proceeds to attack EX Zetton in a mad fury but almost perishes in the molten lava until Mebius saves him, despite being heavily injured by EX Zetton. Being thrown to the Battle Nizer, Mechazam tries to break the seal under Mebius' guidance to reverse the disruption field but the container was too strong...

Set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time, Murasaki Shikibu. Her story begins from the death of her husband, a Japanese noble, then moves on to her recruitment to train the Prince's young 'wives in waiting'. It is dotted throughout and actually composed mainly of one of the fictional stories she wrote, the tale of Genji. Genji is a rich playboy who falls in love and has a son to his stepmother. He falls in love often and has many wives whom are all completely subservient to him.

Chiku is a devastated and dangerous town with 5 gangs fighting fiercely. Mugen and the Amamiya Brothers clashed, leading to Mugen disbanding.

A "lying flat" youth exposes a loan shark, falls in love with a "super striver," and their turbulent romance overcomes various scams and financial disasters.

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Magazine editor Mamiya is intrigued by high school model Noeru's talent and attitude, but soon realizes his feelings go beyond professional curiosity.

The survivors of Kanto's Hell Earthquake built a new city and christened it "Hope Town". However, this peaceful town becomes a nightmare when it's raided by the motorcycle gang, "Hell's Wind". They abduct the women while the remaining townsfolk are left helpless against them. Meanwhile, a boy, Saburo, meets Jun. Jun's lover was previously murdered, and the duo help one another to fight against Hell's Wind. The battles are getting more and more difficult, but with the appearance of Violence Jack, the citizens seem to gain the upper hand against Hell's Wind.

Physicist Manabu Yukawa returns to Japan from America. Detective Kaoru Utsumi visits him and talks about a case. The case is about a popular girl in a town who disappeared and, several years later, her body was found. A suspect was arrested for her murder. That suspect was previously arrested for another girl's murder, but he was released due to a lack of evidence. Detective Shunpei Kusanagi investigated the prior murder case. The same suspect was then released due to a lack of evidence for the most recent murder case. The released man returned to his town, where everybody hated him. On the day of the autumn festival parade, the man was killed. Physicist Manabu Yukawa, Detective Kaoru Utsumi and Detective Shunpei Kusanagi work together on his case.

Mi Wey is a local hero named after "Killer Meteors", his secret weapon which makes him invincible. However, when "Immortal" Wa Wu Bin, another powerful local character seeks his assistance, Killer Meteor will face the greatest and the deadliest challenge of his life.

When Huh Saek decides to become a male gisaeng, he captivates countless women with his looks and talents but doubts the existence of true love — until he meets a girl with progressive ideas.

Keisuke, a 10-year-old boy, living hard despite being abused by his father, finds a ray of light in the midst of his suffering and conflict ---- a shogi world where he fights quietly and passionately in his sharpened senses. Even though he gives up and tries to escape from the light, his passion for shogi continues to guide him thereafter. Eventually, he would learn the true meaning of life.

Sung-chil works at the Jang-soo Store which is owned by Jang-soo. Sung-chil is stubborn and has a bad temper, but he changes after meeting Geum-nim. Geun-nim runs a flower shop and her daughter Min-jung does not like her meeting Sung-chil.

Two compulsive gamblers struggle to quit their habit and raise a child.

A portrait of an ordinary family that turns unstable when their frivolous son Shuji returns home after a long absence.

Lead by matriarch widow Hong Duk-ja, the Hong gangster family turns legitimate, but a figure from their past returns to undermine and ruin their popular new business.

This is a powerful, yet fictionalized life story of Huo Yuan Chia, a real kung fu master in Southern China who brought respect to the populace and allowed kung fu to be taught to all Chinese during a time of revolt and low morale in the country's history.

A model training center is set up by Lady Rose, which aims to provide sex partners for men with high social status. However, Lady Rose's main purpose is to blackmail the reputable men for money. A fashion show of undergarment is held, Lady Rose's models appear in their sexiest and most seductive underwear, and men cannot stop looking for partners. The dirty business of Lady Rose is finally exposed and shakes up the city when a model is killed...

Timeranger is joined by GoGoFive when a pesky villain returns to empower the Londerz Criminals in ways that their future technology can't handle!

A tragic love story involving the 5th Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty and a woman who became one of his concubines.

Soo-jin at the age of 34 in her 8th year of marriage. She has been staying out frequently recently and feels that there is another woman intuitively at the attitude of her husband, Hyuk-soo, who has changed cold. One day, she meets Chang-gi, a creator who creates content related to the lives of housewives by chance, and has an interview in the “Monthly Housewife Life” section, and in a comfortable interview process, she confides in her honest concerns about the couple’s relationship. Chang-gi, who felt sorry for her agonizing appearance, soothes her heart and holds her hand to have a deep relationship

A mysterious and highly successful hitwoman in Hong Kong is paid to assassinate top-level crime bosses. After beginning a relationship with a noodle vendor, she decides to travel to South Korea to complete one last job. Unfortunately, the dead man's bodyguard is out for revenge.

In a Japanese school, 5 adolescent geeks join the new sport teacher and take up the challenge to take part in the synchronised swimming competition, in-spite of the mockeries of the real sportsmen.

High school student Naotatsu travels to live at his uncle's house. In the pouring rain, he is picked up at the nearest station by a strange adult woman named Sakaki who guides him to an unexpected share house where a life together begins.

Yan and Emily have been married for two years. Since Emily is cultivated in a catholic way and considers sex to be a sin, their sex life is always miserable. To save their marriage, Yan hires a nobleman, K, to give Emily a lesson in sex. Yan cooks up a scheme to kidnap his wife and lock her up in a castle for three months for the tutorial. After the training, her attitude towards sex has been changed, but Yan is still unable to please his wife...

Plot TBA. The third and final installment in the Infinity Castle story arc.

This story follows a cop in Shanghai during the 1930s. His department is overrun with corruption, while gangsters rule the city via the opium trade.

Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.

Tsukiko is part of the photography club at school, but has always felt less than her sister Tomie. She's cute and very popular among boys. However, one day, Tomie dies in a horrible accident, triggering endless nightmares for Tsukiko. One year later, right when Tomie was supposed to turn 18, someone knocks on the door. Tomie is back.

Won-Tak's dad, an old-time con-man, was suddenly killed during a freak accident in the prison, just one day before his release. Having waited for so many years to be reconciled with his dad and to start a new life together, Won-Tak felt betrayed and vowed to ruin his own life and bring shame to his parents. However, unknown to him, Wong-Tak's dad has managed to strike a bargain with an angel to return to the living world as Won-Tak's new bestfriend.

Naked Nations is a deeply human, joyful, poignant and heartbreaking film about freedom and its many manifestations, fragility and limits, a film about life, depression and difficult decisions. But above all, a film about love.

In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.

When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is called to investigate.

Based on a popular manga series of the same name, this Japanese romantic comedy follows the lives of two high school students, Kotoko, a bubbly girl who’s hopeless in school, and Naoki, her smart and handsome senior. Although Kotoko gathers up the courage to confess her love to him, he bluntly rejects her in public. But fate works in mysterious ways - when her house collapses, a childhood friend of her father’s, Mr. Irie, invites them to live with his family, and she learns that the son of Mr. Irie is none other than Naoki himself…

Set in the late 21st century, an MRI scanner is introduced at the National Research Institute of Police Science's 9th Forensics Laboratory. The machine is able to scan the memories from even the deceased. As ethical questions arise over the machine's use, the 9th Forensics Laboratory members, including rookie Ikko Aoki and Chief Tsuyoshi Maki, struggle to solve cases.

A short film released in 1998 between Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas and The Great Operating of Springing Insects. About Doraemon leaving Nobita to go back to the future.

Unholy Women (Kowai onna), is a composite of three unrelated half-hour horror movies. A compilation of 3 separate short horror films (Rattle Rattle, Hagane, The Inheritance) written and directed by Keita Amemiya, Takuji Suzuki, and Keisuke Toyoshima respectively. The first segment, “Rattle Rattle”, tells the story of a young woman who is pursued by an evil other-worldly being. The second movie, “Steel”, concerns a young man who agrees to take the sister of his boss out on a blind date, drawing him into a world more frightening than he ever dreamed possible. The third and final episode, “The Inheritance”, is a supernatural tale of a woman and her young son, scarred by abuse and psychological trauma.

When a young yakuza torments the customers in a rival crime family's nightclub, it is not long before his dead body is found. Soon, inter-family retaliation follows, resulting in the death for a prominent crime boss. Devastated by this turn of events, the temperamental Kenzaki vows to avenge his boss's death and, as bloody violence ensues, the body count reaches excessive proportions.

A recently divorced and traumatized man moves to Hakodate, Hokkaido and attends a vocational college to learn carpentry along with several other students who are in the same boat as he. When a couple of the guys go to a hostess club the man meets an unconventional girl who likes him and a relationship is born.

A national cussing battle audition is the nation's hype. People from all over the country audition in becoming the "Cussing King." However, redundant cussing auditioners cause viewership to drop dramatically. The producer decides to revive the show by introducing a regular looking grandmother...

When Pim and Ploy, twins conjoined at the stomach, are separated, the operation leaves Pim the surviving sister, haunted by Ploy's vengeful ghost.

Eun-hee and Jung-yeon head toward a pension to have a blast with the guys. Chul-soon is the janitor and he is caught sneeking a peek at Eun-hee and Jung-yeon tanning, but gets away with it in return for letting them take an embarassing video of him. That night, while having dinner, Eun-hee excuses herself from the table and Jung-yeon and Min-ki have sex. They realize someone is wwatching and thinking it's Chul-soon again, beat him up. However, Chul-soon is innocent and he decides to take revenge.

A fish-out-of-water comedy where the fish can set people on fire! Wendy (Chingmy Yau) arrives in Hong Kong to stay with her aunt Big Beer (Deannie Ip), who shares a space with her landlord Charles (Lawrence Cheng). There’s just one problem: Wendy can set things on fire with her mind. Her pyrokinetic powers are accompanied with some bad luck, so the victim usually gets a double whammy of charred flesh and misfortune.

Uncle Ying and Uncle Ho, use science and reason as a starting point to find the truth behind supernatural phenomena such as strange powers, to dispel superstitions and to smash the man-made conspiracies lurking in the shadows.

At the SCRS (Seiko Cup Rally Series), talented young drivers hope to advance to the WRC (World Rally Championship). Atsuhiro Hiyama is the chief mechanic and an engineer at Supika Racing Factory. He is well regarded by his peers. His younger brother is Naozumi. He is an extremely gifted driver for Supika Racing Factory, but he is also a troublemaker. They continually argue because of Naozumi's reckless racing style. One day, Hikaru Endo becomes his manager.

An erotic film about a junior boyfriend.

Suddenly learning she is terminally ill, Se-yeon asks her husband, Jin-bong the absurd task of helping her find her first love, and he unwillingly joins her search. Along their journey, Se-yeon and Jin-bong are reminded of the most glittering, beautiful moments of their lives.