High Performance Imports: Volume 5

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

In December 2021, Hideki Kuriyama began devoting his days to one singular goal: hoisting the championship trophy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. How did he mold his players into one of the best and strongest Samurai Japan teams in history? A close-up documentary that looks back on Samurai Japan's path to becoming world champions, along with valuable behind-the-scenes footage captured by the team's dedicated crew.

An Irish doctor survived the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki and was given a Samurai sword for the lives he saved. 70 years later his family searches for the origin of their father's sword.

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.

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.

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

A day in the life of the Manchester Evening News.

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

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

A look at the work of Japanese woodblock printing artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).

In Japan, more than four million young people survive by taking on precarious jobs. They are called “freeters”. The film gives voice to these “discard-after-use” workers, who regard their situation with both lucidity and desperation, as well as to ex-freeters who have become activists in the fight against exclusions.

The culture of Japan is incredible, from bloom festivals to ultra-modern cities. But there are also more than 130 mammals and 600 bird species dwelling in Japan’s 6,852 islands. This island chain is long enough to span climate zones, providing a huge range of habitat.

From a young age, Natsuki knew she was a girl despite her sex assigned at birth. Against the backdrop of conservative Japanese society, this poignant docudrama tells her remarkable story of gender transition. Reflecting on her high school years, Natsuki interviews the supportive friends and family who supported her choices – and also confronts the people those who oppressed her freedom. Tracing Natsumi’s story to the present, this compelling portrait of gender identity in contemporary Japan offers insights of a layered experience in a complex society.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th century Finnish philologist G. J. Ramstedt travelled around Mongolia and Central-Asia. In this documentary Ramstedt’s memoirs are heard in the modern day setting, where tradition is replaced with hunger for money, and deserts give way to cities.

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

A documentary film chronicling the rehearsal, preparation and performance of a Fishmans concert performed on February 19, 2019 @Zepp Tokyo.

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.

WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way that puts key events and tipping points in a global perspective. By re-creating groundbreaking moments that could never have been captured on camera, and by illustrating the importance of simultaneity and the hidden effects of crucial incidents, HISTORY presents the war's monumental moments in a never-before-seen context. And with new information brought to the forefront, you'll better understand how a nation ranked 19th in the world's militaries in 1939 emerged six years later as the planet's only atomic superpower.

"When you build a car with the Rolling Bones you are expected to be at Bonneville. . . that's what these cars are all about" Join Brian Darwas and the Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop on a cross country trip full of roadside breakdowns, shop tours, parking lot parties and plenty of racing at what most people consider the birthplace of hot rodding, the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats. All thirteen hot rods embark on a life time adventure from New York to Utah, where Keith Cornell breaks the world record for the fastest Ford Y-block. With enough salt pit rebuilds, tech inspections, and race runs to keep even the most jaded gearhead one the edge of their seat. Be there to experience the sun on your face and salt in the air when it all comes down to that THREE MILE pass.

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?