Otaku - Children of the Virtual Empire

Plató(es)

Poem of the Young Hearts(en)

An independently produced documentary about growing up as a blind youth in 1960's Japan. It focuses on a group of elementary level students being taught by Mr. Kawai at the Zoshigaya Branch of Tokyo Educational University. Filmed over 12 years, the documentary tracks these student's lives up through their young adulthood. It follows the journey of one student in particular, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, a young boy who eventually learns a passion for music and wants to become a recording artist. Expanded from director Hideo Hamada's documentary short "But We Can Gaze!"

Kochuu(sv)

A film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition and its impact on the Nordic building-tradition. Winding its way through visions of the future, traditions, nature, concrete, gardens and high-tech, KOCHUU tells us how contemporary Japanese architects strive to unite the ways of modern man with the old philosophies in astounding constructions. Interviews with, and works by, Japanese architects Tadad Ando, Kisho Kurokawa, Toyo Ito and Kazuo Shinohara and Scandinavian architects Sverre Fehn, Kristian Gullichsen and Juhani Pallasmaa.

Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much(en)

Maths teacher Ted Slauson became adept at recording and memorizing prices of products featured on the iconic game show The Price is Right, an obsession dating back to the show's inception in 1972. This passion and dedication for the show culminated in him helping a contestant place a perfect bid during a 2008 showcase, an innocent act that would create one of the biggest controversies in television industry history.

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.

MEGUMI The Campaign(ja)

Megumi Odaka (小高恵美) idol VHS tape, Megumi the Campaign - Idol Roke Zenkoku Jyuudan, 1989. She is best known for the role of Miki Saegusa in six Godzilla films from 1989 to 1995.

The Road to the Tokyo Olympics(ja)

A documentary film that includes footage of past Olympics held in different countries with an particular emphasis on the activities and successes of Japanese athletes and how they are currently (circa 1963) improving themselves.

Whereabouts of Sound(ja)

As they play carefree music, their musicianship is met with surprise, wonder, and sometimes even laughter. Captivating all who watch, Otoasobi Project’s rich variety of expression reshapes the concept of improvised music. Formed in 2005 in Kobe, Japan, Otoasobi Project has some 50 members, including people with intellectual disabilities, musicians, and music therapists, who pursue music and well-being through improvised performances. After many years of numerous workshops, concerts, and other activities, they even held their first tour in the UK in September 2013. The movie “Whereabouts of Sound” depicts the appeal of the improvised music Otoasobi creates, and the beauty of its natural, honest expression.

Samurai Japan: The Story Behind the WBC Clean Sweep(ja)

Samurai Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic for the first time in 14 years, and went all the way to the final undefeated. In addition to the never-before-seen footage of the team, the film also includes interviews with Manager Hideki Kuriyama, players, coaches, and team staff. What is the truth behind the glory and the suffering of the people involved?

The Tea Coffee Experiment(it)

A group of friends come up with the brilliant idea of testing the non-existent drink known as "Tea Coffee".

Being Japanese(en)

A documentary exploring what it means to be Japanese.

American Movie(en)

American Movie documents the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.

Follow Me(en)

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

Général Ishiwara - L'homme qui déclencha la guerre(fr)

Last Room(fr)

Made in Japan, Last Room is both fiction and documentary. The occupants of the love-hotels and capsule-hotels tell their own intimate, dreamlike stories, interspersed with journeys through the archipelago's landscapes. Soon, these personal stories resonate with a collective history: that of Gunkanjima, the abandoned ghost island of Nagasaki, and then that of Japan as a whole.

No Packers, No Life(en)

Suh, whose favorite Packer will always be Mason Crosby; Omi and Ayaka, whose infant daughter already sports a green and gold onesie, and Ryuta aka “fatdragon08” who briefly lived in Milwaukee in 1990, studying English, where he was teased for wearing a San Fancisco 49ers jacket, and subsequently converted to the Pack Life. Benzine’s film lets us spend quality time with these super fans, and then follows them as they make plans to cross the sea to see their beloved Packers in-person at Lambeau! As director Benzine says, “No Packers, No Life is a story about a sports team and their fans, but more than that it illustrates how people from all over the world can come together and unite over a common passion. Also, the Japanese fans arrive in Green Bay and get to ride the Zippin Pippin and party a lot. It’s a very good time.”

Tora-san of Goto(ja)

This documentary film follows for 22 years a nine-member family involved in the manufacturing of Udon in the Goto Islands, Nagasaki prefecture. Mr. Toru Inuzuka called by nickname "Tora-san" is making famous 'Goto Udon' and natural salt on the island on which the depopulation is progressing. Seven children get up at 5 o'clock every morning, helping to make udon, and go to school. Children's help is recorded on the time card, and it is pocket money for children. The film talks about children's growth, marriage, childbirth, homecoming, and parting. The 22 years of familiarity of the family is drawn.

Japan's War in Colour(en)

Using never-before-seen footage, Japan's War In Colour tells a previously untold story. It recounts the history of the Second World War from a Japanese perspective, combining original colour film with letters and diaries written by Japanese people. It tells the story of a nation at war from the diverse perspectives of those who lived through it: the leaders and the ordinary people, the oppressors and the victims, the guilty and the innocent. Until recently, it was believed that no colour film of Japan existed prior to 1945. But specialist research has now unearthed a remarkable colour record from as early as the 1930s. For eight years the Japanese fought what they believed was a Holy War that became a fight to the death. Japan's War In Colour shows how militarism took hold of the Japanese people; describes why Japan felt compelled to attack the West; explains what drove the Japanese to resist the Allies for so long; and, finally, reveals how they dealt with the shame of defeat.

The Cove(en)

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

The Little Travelers: Japan(en)

This first installment of The Little Travelers set in Japan is a true pearl in the sea of children s media! It is filled with tender moments between the two sisters, Chantel and Nakia, and their new Japanese friends that demonstrate to viewers, young and old, how cultural understanding can flourish and ideally move us closer to world peace. What an incredible job the film does in sharing the very different customs, foods, and living arrangements. I wanted to live in Japan with the girls! There are moments in the video that I laughed with pure delight when Nakia and Chantel tried to walk in their wooden sandals or fell asleep on the train. There were equally exquisite moments when the sisters played among the blossoming cherry trees or visited the tranquil religious shrines. I can t wait to see where the girls visit next. --Patti Connolly, Educator

Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School(en)

When Alex is caught using magic to clean her room she is forced to go to wizard school with Justin. Max and Jerry camp out on the terrace to prove their manhood.

Farewell Moscow(it)

Don't Blink(en)

A young man talks to his psychiatrist about strange visions he has been having in his dreams.

Lo(en)

We must protect this house.

The Falls: Testament of Love(en)

Picking up five years after the doomed romance between Mormon missionaries RJ and Chris, though their lives have taken radically different paths, the death of a mutual friend unexpectedly reunites the two men at a time when both are attempting to establish their adult lives. As old feelings of love and regret are rekindled, RJ and Chris must once again confront their seemingly impossible love.

Moscow, I Love You!(ru)

18 directors, 18 novels, 18 short stories about Moscow...

Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters(en)

Po and the Furious Five uncover the legend of three of kung fu's greatest heroes: Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox, and Master Croc.

Dschugaswili from Georgia(de)

Forced collectivism, famines, errors and mistakes mark Stalin´s ruthless rise to dictorial power and only increase his madness until he even declares a chicken to be an English spy that should be liquidated.

Jim's Story(fr)

Aymeric runs into Florence, a former coworker, one evening in Saint-Claude in the Haut-Jura. She is six months pregnant and single. When she gives birth to Jim, Aymeric is there. They spend happy years together until Christophe, Jim's biological father, shows up... It could be the start of a melodrama, it's also the start of an odyssey into fatherhood.

Star(fr)

Star is a young graffiti writer, the best in his city, Paris. His reputation attracts him as much into art galleries than in the police precincts. Accused of vandalism, he faces jail. Despite the threat, he decides to go to Rome with his crew in search of the meaning of his art.

LOL(en)

A story of a boy and his dog named LOL.

AA(en)

AA is a portrait of the dream diaries of Russian avant garde feminist poet and photographer Anna Alchuk.

The Wandering Pain(ru)

A film-memoir about the first honest conversation between an adult daughter and the father with whom she had never had a close relationship. Several days after the meeting, her father vanishes without trace once more, this time forever.

Man of the East(it)

By his dying father's last wish Joe is sent to the Wild West to become a real guy. The dreamy young man despises guns and fights likes poems and prefers bicycles to horses. Now his three teachers footpads all of them shall teach him otherwise. This doesn't work until Joe has to defend himself against gunman Morton who's jealous of Joe's love to rancher Ohlsen's beautiful daughter.

Panda(es)

Antonio and Beba are a pair of panda bears besieged by the classic obstacles of a young couple. Their life together is defined by routine, until one day they are forced to live with their favorite singer.

Express 'Moscow-Russia'(ru)

This is a story about a guy who is willing to sell the soul, just to dial million views for your videos on YouTube. On the way to his goal, he turns into a fast train "Moscow - Vladivostok», where faced with an American actress, suffering aerophobia. On the way strangers expect such adventures that they lag behind the train that trying to catch up, moving our unpredictable and fabulous Mother Russia - After each of them need to be in Vladivostok exactly 7 days - for reasons which they carefully conceal from each other.

Hourglass(hu)

A story of a Jewish-Hungarian-Serbian family. The plot is centered about trying of an adult son to reconstruct his childhood dream of and memories. Looms, but a sunken world, the central European town with its figures, the way to experiencing deep and see a sensitive boy, his father, who by their fears that penetrate to the bone and the final humiliation of acting madness escapes and becomes a lonely, pathetic buffoon in the drama of life.

Out of Darkness(en)

In the Old Stone Age, a disparate gang of early humans band together in search of a new land. But when they suspect a malevolent, mystical, being is hunting them down, the clan are forced to confront a danger they never envisaged.

A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits(en)

A contemporary musical version of the classic Cinderella story in which the servant step daughter hope to compete in a musical competition for a famous pop star.