High Performance Imports: Volume 5(2002)

Follow Me(en)

Documentary about two boys and a girl who travel to surfing spots around the world.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness(ja)

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

Doll Messengers of Friendship(en)

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

Kintaro Walks Japan(en)

Kintaro Walks Japan is a documentary film produced and directed by Tyler MacNiven. It is an account of MacNiven's journey walking and backpacking the entire length of Japan from Kyūshū to Hokkaidō, more than 2000 miles in 145 days.

Atlas(en)

The concept of machine-made knit was known as early as the 1850s, but it was only during the 1920s that the quality of the material had improved. When the plant known as "Atlas" was introduced in 1931, the shop windows drew a lot of attention, and Aho & Soldan was ordered to make a promotional film. In this well-paced film, we see the jersey production step by step.

The Shogun(en)

With cunning and courage the japanese warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu managed to unify Japan after 150 years of civil war.

Like It Is(en)

This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.

The Witches of the Orient(fr)

The Japanese volleyball players called the “Oriental Witches” are now in their 70s. From the formation of the team at the factory until their victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, memories and legends rise to the surface and blend inextricably.

Megacities(en)

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

A Powerful Passion(it)

A journey through a century of Ambrosoli family history.

Heart of the Country(en)

"Heart of the Country" is the story of Shinichi Yasutomo, the extraordinary principal of a rural elementary school in Kanayama, central Hokkaido, Northern Japan. Yasutomo is a man driven by his vision for learning and his passion for educating the heart as well as the mind. The film follows Yasutomo, his teachers and staff, students and their families over the course of one entire school year. The film is also the story of the families of Kanayama. Parents and elders of this once impoverished town embrace Yasutomo's vision, but not without wary glances back to the past. This small community, bound together by love for its children, is also defined by its journey through the cultural upheavals of postwar Japan.

Hyde Park Corner(en)

Film made at Hyde Park Corner in 1896 by an unknown filmmaker. It looks south west across Grosvenor Place. The southern wing of St George's Hospital (today the Lanesborough Hotel) can be seen on the right of the picture. The road stretching away in the centre of the picture is Grosvenor Crescent. The busy two way horsedrawn traffic movement is seen on what would today be Grosvenor Place and Apsley Way (the road layout now is different to 1896). The approximate camera position would be today on Apsley Way, just east of the Royal Artillery Memorial. Not to be confused with another Hyde Park Corner film by British Pathé made in the same year but with a different view. (That film looks north towards the triumphal arch at the corner of Hyde Park next to Apsley House.)

Court Case(en)

An insider's look on the making of Penn's tennis balls, from their creation in a factory to the final stages of quality control.

JDM Insider vol 4: The Kanto Tuners(ja)

Other - An in-depth look at the world of Japanese street racing.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain(en)

Actual footage by the United States Signal Corps of the landing and attack on Arawe Beach, Cape Glouster, New Britain island in 1943 in the South Pacific theatre of World War Two, and the handicaps of the wild jungle in addition to the Japanese snipers and pill-box emplacements.

Seek nothing, Just sit: Life in a Zen Monastery(en)

A year of zen practice at Antaiji Temple in Japan. Many non-Japanese gather at this Soto school zen temple to do zazen 1,800 hours per year and live the zen ideal of self-sufficiency.

Japon : L'Empire du sexe virtuel(fr)

Hafu(es)

A journey into the intricacies of mixed-race Japanese and their multicultural experiences in modern day Japan. For some hafus, Japan is the only home they know, for some living in Japan is an entirely new experience, and the others are caught somewhere between two different worlds.

Under a Bridge(ja)

In this tape, Ko Nakajima and Video Earth Tokyo interview a homeless man. The subject is initially angry and frustrated, but gradually opens up and shares stories about his life. Under A Bridge was later broadcast on cable television.

Machines(hi)

This portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India, moves through the corridors and bowels of the enormously disorienting structure—taking the viewer on a journey of dehumanizing physical labor and intense hardship.