Follow a disembodied spirit as it tries to find its way home.
It Ain't Necessarily So captures a budding Japanese jazz singer and her biracial vocal instructor who struggle to agree on the proper way to sing Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy.” Humor is no stranger to jazz singers Eiko Katayama and Kazue Hiraoka who star alongside Masa Fox, their English teacher. "Master at capturing hyper-awkward moments... brilliantly explore how representations of culture and identity ain’t necessarily how they appear." --Wilda Wong, San Diego Asian Film Festival
This documentary follows the lives of four elderly Japanese men living in Manila's impoverished districts. Known as "distressed Japanese," they navigate their daily lives with minimal earnings and assistance from others. Despite once having jobs and families in Japan, they find themselves spending their final days in Manila for various reasons. The documentary offers a poignant portrayal of their struggles over seven years.
Kyogo Furuhashi has taken Celtic by storm since joining the club in the summer of 2021. He has scored 26 goals so far in the 2022-2023 season as the Hoops chase a domestic treble. The Japan international was recently followed by a documentary crew in his homeland during the first half of the season. During the film, fans heard from the player about life in Scotland, recieved an insight into his friendship with team-mate Jota and also witnessed the vivid motivations, scoring, and growth after disappointment in missing out on the squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
A documentary exploring what it means to be Japanese.
'Magical Imperfection' tells the inspirational story of world-renowned Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama. Imprisoned in his own country during the 1940s because of his race, Ray found the strength to combat injustice by devoting his career to social justice and equality.
In a dystopian present, a young Japanese-American man battles the cascading effects of his family's wrongful incarceration in the 1940s.
Yuko Mizushima encounters an alternate version of herself, and subsequently explores her sensuality in a series of connected vignettes.
A young father struggles with his art and an infatuation, while his young daughter may be the key to saving the future, if the weird aliens and talking animals who observe the family in their little alley may be believed.
In this Traveltalk short, the symbolic role of cherry blossoms in Japanese culture is explored as well as the traditional Japanese religions of Shintoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
Yohji Yamamoto | Dressmaker is an intimate and delving portrait of one of fashion's most revered stalwarts. For a man who creates clothing as armour, Yamamoto opens up as never before to share the core values that shape his life and work. Interviews with family, friends, employees and confidants reveal further insight about this complex and enigmatic figure.
An English language, feature-length version of the Japanese marionette series 'Ekkusu bonbâ'. As the year 3000 approaches, a war-torn Solar System is invaded by the Imperial Alliance. The experimental X Bomber spacecraft with its young crew must defend the galaxy.
Chicano is an exploration between the similarities and differences between Chicano culture in America and Japan, and how the scene is not all about gang culture, but has a deep-seated root in family values.
This documentary is about the 3rd and 4th generation Korean residents of Japan who are students of Chosen elementary, middle, and high school in Hokkaido. It follows the students through one year of the eventual 11 years` national education. Rather than focusing on special occasions or issues, it reveals what it is like to live in Japan as Korean-Japanese by describing their everyday lives.
The life and travels of adventurer Naomi Uemura, who disappeared in Alaska in 1984. A member of the first Japanese expedition to reach the summit of Mt Everest in 1970, Uemura also accomplished several "firsts". He was the first man to reach the North Pole solo, climb Denali solo, and float down the Amazon river solo. In the film, Uemura returns to Tokyo after a stint in Siorapaluk in Northern Greenland. In Tokyo, he reconnects with an old friend and, over coffee, shares his life story - from his days as a college dropout to his successful expedition to the top of Everest.
Popular Japanese Group Sounds band, The Spiders, star in their second movie, a "HELP!" inspired rock n roll spy movie!
There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. In Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That's 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. It's an almost superhuman level of dedication to a life of repetition and no shortcuts. This film asks the question: Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?
An NHK documentary that introduces top professionals who are active in the line. In this work, it adheres to Hiroshi Kamiya, who has had an overwhelming presence in the voice actor industry, for five months. We approach his days of struggle in a harsh world.