When the Impressionists Discovered Japan(2018)

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat(fr)

Likely in June 1897, a group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

James Tissot: L'étoffe d'un peintre(fr)

A movie about James Tissot (1836-1902), a French painter and portraitist

Nadar, le premier des photographes(fr)

A documentary about the French photographer Nadar aka Gaspard-Félix Tournachon

Les yeux dans les Bleus(fr)

This documentary follows the French soccer team on their way to victory in the 1998 World Cup in France. Stéphane Meunier spent the whole time filming the players, the coach and some other important characters of this victory, giving us a very intimate and nice view of them, as if we were with them.

Does Your Soul Have a Cold?(ja)

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.

Finding Beauty In the Rubble(en)

In Japan, a survivor of the 2011 tsunami turns beach debris into gorgeous jewelry.

La Revanche de Bernadette Chirac(fr)

Amazônia, A Nova Minamata?(pt)

Mosh Pit(ja)

Documentary shot with 17 cameras covering a gigantic free party featuring two bands and an idol unit. Produced by HMJM of the unorthodox hit The Sex Cannon Ball Run 2013, The Movie, with Iwabuchi Hiroki as director. November 18, 2015. Throngs of people gather at the concert hall LIQUIDROOM in Ebisu, Tokyo in response to an appeal from Asami Hokuto of the rock band Have a Nice Day! The concert picks up momentum and a mosh pit forms in the audience.

Danse japonaise, III : Gueichas en Jinrikcha(fr)

Women getting onto a rickshaw.

1789(fr)

Recording of the play 1789, a collective creation by Théâtre du Soleil at La Cartoucherie de Vincennes in 1970, edited from several shows.

The Sociologist and the Bear Cub(fr)

Between September 2012 and May 2013, France is debating the upcoming marriage equality laws. During those nine months, sociologist Irène Théry talks about what is at stake with her son Mathias Théry, who will make a movie with Étienne Chaillou out of those hours of conversations. It is a documentary about the social debate in France, but also about family and intimacy.

El Ouafi Boughera, The marathon runner of history(cn)

On August 5, 1928, after 2 hours and 32 minutes of racing, the 71st rooster wearing the bib entered the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. Ahmed El Ouafi Bouguéra wins the gold medal and becomes the first Olympic champion from the African continent. He achieved his feat under the tricolor flag. The start of his real marathon is underway. The history of sport extends to the history of Algeria and France. This documentary retraces the different stages of the life of this great champion, not only the history of sport but also the great story. Archival photographs and interviews mingle with the painted paintings. The series thus once again gives voice to this forgotten hero, one of the great heroes of immigration who defended France for more than a century.

Die Monsterinsel(de)

Yamakoshi: The Recovery of a Tiny Japanese Village(ja)

The Great Chuetsu Earthquake which struck Niigata Prefecture on October 23, 2004 is permanently engraved in the memories of most Japanese people today. Hardest hit was the small mountain village of Yamakoshi, located right above the quake’s epicentre. What has become of the villagers who suffered through this disaster seven years ago? This film enters the hearts and minds of the people of Yamakoshi as they pull together over four hard years to rebuild their village, their community, and their lives.

Outsiders: Japan(en)

Join Phil Morrison and James Robinson from Driftworks, Mitto Steele from MeiNoMai and Pieter Gouwy from Garage Portello on a mind blowing tour of the real drift scene in Japan and the culture behind it.

Ugly Beauty(en)

Documentary in which art critic Waldemar Januszczak argues that beauty is still to be found in modern art, despite several recent books claiming the contrary.

Tsukiji Wonderland(ja)

Through the lives of professionals working at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the film portrays how Tsukiji has been the center of fish culinary culture and helped Japanese food culture to flourish as we know it today.

Fish! A Japanese Obsession(en)

Charles Rangeley Wilson, author, journalist and BBC 2's Accidental Angler, travels to Japan to explore the Japanese people's passionate relationship to fish.

Tokyo Trial: Judging Japan(fr)

The story of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, known as the Tokyo Trial, which, just after the Second World War, was established in Japan as a special jurisdiction in 1946 (it was closed in 1948) to judge the war crimes of the Japanese leaders; and how and why officials in Washington prevented Emperor Hirohito to be seen sat on the bench.