Lil Tokyo Reporter(2012)

American Yakuza(en)

When Nick Davis leaves prison after one year in solitairy, he is hired to operate a forklift in a warehouse in the harbor owned by the Japanese Yakuza patriarch Isshin Tendo. The place is assaulted by the Italian Mafia lead by Dino Campanela and Nick rescues and saves the life of Shuji Sawamoto, who is the representative of Yakuza interests in America. Shuji hires Nick to work for Yakuza and becomes his godfather in the family after his oath to join Yakuza. However, Nick is a lonely FBI undercover agent assigned to penetrate the criminal organization. When the FBI discovers that Campanela is organizing a massive attack to destroy the Yakuza, Nick's boss Littman calls off the operation to leave the dirty work to the Italian Mafia. But the connection of Nick with Shuji and his goddaughter Yuko forces him to help his Japanese family.

Oranges and Sunshine(en)

The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.

Panther(en)

In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.

The Outsider(en)

A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.

Blood on the Sun(en)

Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.

Emperor(en)

As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.

Family Romance, LLC(en)

Love is a business at Family Romance, a company that rents human stand-ins for any occasion. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps make his clients’ dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing father, the line between acting and reality threatens to blur.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan(en)

A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.

Girl in the Box(en)

The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.

Radium Girls(en)

Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.

Munich – The Edge of War(en)

At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.

Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes(en)

A defiant warrior-monk arrives at Kublai Khan's court in chains and soon earns his tragic nickname in this 30-minute origin story.

The Kill Team(en)

When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.

Falcon Rising(en)

Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.

Waiting for Anya(en)

During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.

Flags of Our Fathers(en)

There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.

Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher(en)

At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.

Welcome to Sudden Death(en)

Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.

Shattered Glass(en)

The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at The New Republic for three years. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down.

Outlaws - For Greater Glory(en)

A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

Dream Girl(en)

Humans use technology to improve their lives, to forge connections, to create time that doesn’t exist, to replace real interactions. When we devise a second version of ourselves on social media, do we lose a piece of our true selves in the process? Do our digital connections threaten our real life relationships? What happens if the filtered characters we’ve imagined take on a life of their own?

The Governor's Daughters(sv)

An important man's death brings forth a secret, revealing a daughter from another woman, previously unknown to his wife - and bringing about the meeting of the two sisters.

Conséquent(es)

Summer Romance(ja)

This delightful short is a world away from Tomomatsu's later works. It's a lovely story, told well. The reason that I tracked it down is because I'm quite a fan of Alice Sailor's music. She fronts new wave band Amaryllis and I was curious to see her acting. She has frequently supplied theme songs and other music to several of Tomomatsu's films. Indeed, the most disturbing sequence in this movie is accompanied by a psychotic Amaryllis track, 'Haha', and the closing piece is another Amaryllis song, 'Usagi'. This rip comes from the 'Eat The Schoolgirl' DVD, where it was one of the extras. Having just watched the main feature from that disc, I can say with some certainty that I found this tale far more enjoyable.

The Lie Game(en)

A desperate computer scientist struggling to fund her anti-depression AI application faces her toughest challenge yet.

A Tale of Yearning(zh)

This is a sad tale of a noble lady who is entranced by an opera singer. Hoping to get closer to the singer, the lady takes up lessons with her. Despite their affection, they must face obstacles.

Big Red House(az)

The documentary sheds light on the lives of children who suffered physical and psychological trauma due to the terrorist attacks by Armenia on the eve of the Second Karabakh War.

Mudai(ja)

Itsuki, a young director, begins making a film with a homeless girl she meets one day as the protagonist. However, this leads her to confront the distorted reality that she had been pretending not to notice.

A Search Through Nine Lifetimes(zh)

For love to travel for thousands of years, they will eventually meet.

The Surf Report(en)

A ghostly love story unfolds as two men look for answers where ocean meets sky and city meets wild in Rockaway Beach, NY.

Line(ja)

A scheming office janitor devises a plan to have her husband steal from the safe in the president's office. Hiroyuki Nakao directs.

The Sparkling Amber(ja)

The bobbed-head Ryoko is a shy middle school student. She has been living with her dad, just the 2 of them ever since her mother died of an illness. It was in this Aizawa household that 3 months ago, suddenly, that the Kansai dialect wielding Michiko with her hair fastened tightly above her head came in. This is the story of amber of the three whom were like a family and yet not.

Shinjuku Swan(ja)

Shiratori Tatsuhiko works as a scout for talent agency Burst in Kabukichō, Shinjuku's red light district, recruiting young girls for the adult entertainment industry. In a business where money means everything, Tatsuhiko finds himself in a constant struggle between rival scouts and the Yakuza.

Tokyo 2001/10/21 22:32~22:41(ja)

A mother and son are eating sushi at a conveyer belt sushi bar in Tokyo. This film depicts their conversation using cutout animation.

Patrick(en)

A charismatic mortician finds love when he meets David, a shy southern boy attending his grandfather’s funeral. Their brief romance is cut short when Patrick’s old flame tries to rekindle a relationship, and a crowded house party quickly turns violent. Emotionally shattered, David must confront his feelings of betrayal and loss, while also learning to accept his sexual identity and reconcile it with his family’s faith.

The Fox Spirit Repays a Debt(zh)

A wife and a concubine seek freedom. In a game of seduction, together they join forces to defeat their oppressors.

Supreme(en)

When his credit card doesn't work, the biggest problem for a middle class man is finding enough change to buy a sandwich on sale.

The Trap(en)

Isolation and loneliness converge on an unexpected journey when intrigue and new come to town.

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges(ja)

Part 7 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Katsuji finds his long lost mother, who is a rich lady of a respectable family. Comedy and melodrama ensue. A thrilling spectacle with an overly violent ending, and a remarkable, Japan's only post-prison rape comedy, Masa is determined to have sex with the female guard, despite the fact that there is a bar between them. Michi Azuma (topless swordswoman from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril) plays a tomboy who wants to join her brothers.

Stardust(nl)

When his father brings his new girlfriend to the seaside, a withdrawn boy is forced to share his grief with someone he doesn't want to know.