University of Laughs(2004)

...All the Marbles(en)

A two-bit promoter tries to take a women's wrestling team to the top.

Memories of Matsuko(ja)

While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.

Code 3(en)

A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.

Death by Hanging(ja)

A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.

Family Weekend(en)

A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

Somewhere in Queens(en)

Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.

Landline(en)

A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

Don't Think Twice(en)

An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.

Hospitalité(ja)

In this black comedy the lives of a timid small-time printer and his young wife are turned inside out by the arrival of a stranger who moves in and takes over their world. Set in a village-like outpost in the heart of Tokyo, this is a wry commentary on Japanese xenophobia. Kiki Sugino heads a spritely ensemble cast.

Hooking Up(en)

Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.

Glory to the Filmmaker!(ja)

Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.

SubUrbia(en)

A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.

Almost Friends(en)

A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.

In the Soup(en)

An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.

CQ(en)

A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.

Achilles and the Tortoise(ja)

Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.

A Dog Year(en)

Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets(en)

In the emotionally charged, wild and humorous world of sixteen year old James Whitman, his struggle to overcome anxiety and depression involve seeking advice from Dr. Bird - a giant imaginary pigeon therapist.

Small Apartments(en)

When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.

My Own Love Song(en)

A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.

Rashomon(ja)

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

All About Eve(en)

From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.

Swallowtail Butterfly(ja)

The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.

All Because of Me(ja)

Yuta lives in an orphanage while waiting for her mother to pick her up. One day, Yuta, who happened to know his mother's whereabouts, escaped from the facility with all his heart. However, there was a mother who depended on her cohabiting man and lived a self-deprecating life. Despaired, Yuta meets Sakamoto, a homeless man who lives in a light tiger while walking along the beach. Sakamoto accepts Yuta without asking anything. The two sleep and eat together while earning a small amount of money. Eventually, he became acquainted with Shiori, a girl who grew up in a wealthy family but had no place to live at home or school. Yuta is attracted to Shiori, who has the same loneliness as himself but is kind to him. However, the calm days end with an incident.

Actors, Inc.(es)

Thomas is a young actor, the adopted son of Don Antonio, director and founder of the theatrical company to witch he belongs and where he presents his plays. When Don Antonio dies, Thomas is in the need to reestablish his artistic abilities and of the company to save the theater of falling in the hands of the very ambitious Mauro, nephew of Don Antonio who wants to tare it down in order to build a gymnasium. He sets up a web site where he offeres his services as an actor to anyone who needs them outside of the stage. Under those circumstances, Thomas knows Rebeca, mother of Lucia, who hires him to have Lucia fall in love in order to be able to collect an inherence.

Gintama(ja)

In an era where aliens have invaded and taken over feudal Tokyo, a young samurai finds work however he can.

Mothra vs. Godzilla(ja)

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

A Chorus Line(en)

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.

Casting(de)

For her first television film, director Vera wants the perfect cast. But the first day of shooting is fast approaching and the numerous casting sessions have yet to find a suitable actress to play the leading role. Although the producer and crew are getting ever more exasperated with Vera, Gerwin is happy about the extra work, as he earns his money as an audition reader, delivering the lines of dialogue to the starry candidates at the various castings. When the male lead suddenly has to back out, Gerwin thinks that this might just be his chance.

Un chapeau de paille d'italie(fr)

Dolls(ja)

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

Seven Samurai(ja)

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Hamlet(en)

A ghostly visitor with a shocking secret, a daughter devastated by loss, a deadly duel – and the most famous question in all of drama. Just some of the reasons why Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy will hold you spellbound.

Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer(en)

Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain, John Osborneʼs modern classic conjures the seedy glamour of the old music halls for an explosive examination of public masks and private torment.

Adult Drop(ja)

Hajime asks his friend Yoshi to set him up with his classmate Ann. Yoshi tries to do this for Hajime, but this just upsets Ann. Yoshi's relationship with Ann is now awkward. Yoshi doesn't know exactly why, but Ann becomes absent from school frequently. One day, during their summer vacation, Yoshi hears that Ann has dropped out of school.

National Theatre Live: Hansard(en)

It's a summer's morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.

Children of Paradise(fr)

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

Nobody Knows(ja)

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

Battle Royale(ja)

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

The Naked Island(ja)

A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.