311 Revival

A savage journey into the heart of underground Tokyo rock and roll, a look at the people who make it thrive, and stories of their dedication to keeping DIY culture alive.

Documentary about the photo session for the photobook "Castella", filmed in Portugal.

A short film commemorating the 1927 doll exchange between the US and Japan organized by the Committee on World Friendship Among Children

Dans mes pas

This documentary started as part of a photography project about the indigenous Ainu population in northern Japan, portraying people from tightly knit communities. They feel deeply connected by their culture and tradition. With gorgeous pictures, the directors explore how different generations of Ainu reflect on their identity after centuries of oppression.

The bonus documentary with the Taschen book "Manga Design" features interviews of three top manga artists (Usaruara Furuya, Naoki Urasawa and Reko Okano), a Tokyo manga shop tour, and 900 manga covers.

In June 1942, Japanese bombers tried to level the American presence on Midway Island in a bid to steam unimpeded toward the U.S. mainland. Yet the U.S. Navy had two aces up its sleeve: advance knowledge of Japanese plans and a dive-bomber that was nearly invulnerable to attack. When the smoke cleared after the U.S. ambush, four Japanese aircraft carriers -- the Kaga, the Soryu, the Hiryu and the Akagi -- lay on the ocean floor. The program shows how the U.S. Navy and private enterprise teamed up on a 1999 expedition that solved a half-century of military mystery: where exactly did the Japanese ships go down?

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.

This Traveltalk series short looks at pre-World War II Tokyo, highlighting the influences of Western culture.

In a quiet forest, a sign warns of radiation hazard. “Is this the past or the future?” muses the masked figure who appears like a kind of ghost in nuclear disaster areas. At a time when nuclear power may be re-emerging as an alternative to fossil fuels, this calmly observed and compelling tour takes us to places that may serve as a warning.

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.

By following the lives of five Japanese individuals this documentary explores the problem of depression in Japan and how the marketing of anti-depressant drugs has changed the way the Japanese view depression. Marketing of anti-depressants did not begin in Japan until the late 1990s and prior to this, depression was not widely recognized as a problem by the Japanese public. Since then, use of anti-depressants has sky-rocketed and use of the Japanese word "utsu" to describe depression has become commonplace, having previously been used only by psychiatric professionals.

Leaving Europe to look for Akiko, Jean-Noël discovers her city, the exotic Tokyo. A documentary on everyday life in Tokyo, its KABUKI theater, its nostalgic TAKENOKOZOKU dances, its thousands of suit-and-tie executives, its geishas, its Western style marriages, its tranquil green areas, its pulsating nightlife...

An unusual family portrait questioning the definitions of art, family, and what it means to be disabled. Imamura Hanako is a 22-year-old girl with severe autism. Once a week she attends a painting class, where she paints pictures in oils. Every evening after dinner, she creates what her mother Chisa has named “food art.” This may only involve arranging the leftovers from the day’s meal on the floor or a tray, but Chisa records the works every day, accumulating some thousands of photographs. The collection of photographs has now been exhibited around the country. Following Hanako’s daily life in the routine of the four members of the Imamura family, we watch as a portrait of a “very ordinary” family unfold.

JDM Insider

True story of an American volunteer who discovered the unvarnished truth about the Fukushima nuclear disaster cover-up while living in Japan. A critical look at how the authorities handled the nuclear crisis and Tsunami relief by an American who volunteered in the clean-up.

Inspired by the student revolutions of 1968, two women in Germany and Japan set out to plot world revolution as leaders of the Baader Meinhof Group and the Japanese Red Army. What were they fighting for and what have we learned?

Before World War II, Ikego village was an idyllic agriculture community. The Imperial Navy took over the village and the hills to build the largest ammunition preserve in Asia. When Japan lost, these facilities were taken over by the US Navy, and are now housing for the American soldiers.

Becky's Music Story features all her released music videos and a documentary that includes live footage and her tv program Becky Music Life.

Popcult Japan