Click to Ransom

A small rural hospital in Japan battles an international cybercriminal gang that is holding them ransom with their stolen patient data.

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief

Welcome to The Great Happiness Space: Rakkyo Café. The club's owner, Issei (22), has a staff of twenty boys all under his training to become the top escorts of Osaka's underground love scene. During their training, they learn how to dress, how to talk, how to walk, and most importantly, how to fake relationships with the girls who become their source of income. Join us as Osaka's number one host boy takes us on a journey through the complex and heartrenching world of love for sale in the Japanese underground.

夢と狂気の王国

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

アリランラプソディ

The protagonists of the film are the Zainichi Korean women living in Kawasaki. They were tossed about by the war, and after many trips to and fro across the sea in search of a place to live, they finally arrived in Kawasaki, where they have lived modestly and vigorously.

Escondidos

A homeless couple looks for a way to get ahead, working and making an effort, while trying to overcome their past.

Demi-vie à Fukushima

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a Japanese farmer ekes out a solitary existence within the radiation red zone.

Le Japon, l'empereur et l'armée

Citizen Kitano

Takeshi Kitano is an international icon. We know the actor, the multi-award-winning filmmaker, but many ignore his double personality: the crazy TV star, the street kid from Tokyo close to the Yakuza, and the political satirist who blasted taboos! Can we dream of a better guide to introduce us to the cultural history of Japan?

Ona Carbonell: Empezar de nuevo

In August 2020, Olympic artistic swimmer Ona Carbonell became a first time mother, an experience that reshaped her life overnight.

I can't stay here anymore

Jörg is one of the many homeless living near the Vatican. But there is something unusual about him: he appears and talks like a sort of holy man, prophesying, among other things, his next reincarnation as Jesus Christ. This transformation will enable him to drastically change the way things are on this Earth. However, beneath the delusions of omnipotence of a man fighting for glory and universal justice, we find a lonely and pained individual, frightened by the great mystery that awaits all of us.

Io sono nata viaggiando

A journey back through Dacia Maraini's and her trips around the world with her close friends cinema director Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas. An in-depth story of this fascinating woman's life. Maraini's memories come alive through personal photographs taken on the road as well as her own Super 8 films shot almost thirty years ago.

The Past is Always New, the Future is Always Nostalgic: Photographer Daido Moriyama

This documentary follows the legendary Japanese photographer as he continues to find new ways of seeing the visual assault of Tokyo’s streets and reminisces about his life and work.

流れ者図鑑

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.

音の行方

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.

Searching for the Standing Boy of Nagasaki

October 1945. A young Japanese boy in the devastated city of Nagasaki, two months after the atomic bomb, carries on his back the lifeless body of his younger brother. An American military photographer, Joe O'Donnell, took a picture of the boy standing stoically near a cremation pit. No one knows the subject's name, but the photo has become an iconic image of the human tragedy of nuclear war. This documentary follows the continuing efforts to deepen understanding of the photograph, while exploring the fate of thousands of atomic-bomb orphans and their struggles to survive the aftermath of World War II.

Outsiders: Japan

Join Phil Morrison and James Robinson from Driftworks, Mitto Steele from MeiNoMai and Pieter Gouwy from Garage Portello on a mind blowing tour of the real drift scene in Japan and the culture behind it.

Kühe, vom Nebel geschwängert

Catchy mix of farce and documentary. Portrait of a Berlin theatre company made up entirely of the homeless, alcoholics and junks. They call themselves ‘rats’ and take the film over to have a party.

道頓堀よ、泣かせてくれ! DOCUMENTARY of NMB48

Launched in 2011 as a sister group to girl band behemoth AKB48, the Osaka-based NMB48 has become a musical force itself. With a string of No.1 hit singles and albums, not to mention sell-out performances, NMB48 continues Japan’s pop-music phenomena. Director Funahashi Atsushi, whose documentary work has previously chronicled such harrowing events as the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, pulls back the curtain on the life and struggles of the band members and the workings of the idol-making industry.

KANASHII YOKAN: The Life and Legacy of Yukiko Okada

Thirty years ago, idol Okada Yukiko jumped off the Sun Music agency building in a desperate attempt to take her own life. Unfortunately, she was successful. Outside of Japan, not much is known about Yukko, aside from her music and her death. In this documentary series, we will document her short life in its entirety, beginning from her birth and ending with her legacy beyond death.

Freeload

Just as the original hobos of the early 20th century were scorned the mainstream of society, so too are today's train riders. FREELOAD is a dive into a beggar's existence. It is a ride through America's backyard. It is a musical endeavor that feels like a drama. It is a sociological examination of the ignored.