Ulterior Motives

Brother(ja)

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Dochinpira 4(ja)

Jin’s recent life as a gigolo had been going terribly. No matter how long he waited, he couldn't find any good-looking woman. When he did finally find one, she turned out to be in the same business as yakuza and ended up taking his money, and to make things worse, she was into sadomasochism. In the middle of this mess, Jin runs into Ranko, one of his ex-girlfriends and both begin living together again in a strange and unexpected arrangement. Ranko now wants to live a honest life with him, but Jin hasn’t changed at all...

The Pinkie(ja)

Since they were both five, Ryosuke has been stalked by Momoko - the ugliest girl in the village. Her love for Ryosuke is so boundless that she has her face surgically altered to suit his taste - but still he wants nothing to do with her. Ryosuke goes in for fleeting romance - for example, with the girlfriend of a gangster boss. But when he finds out about their affair, he has Ryosuke's little finger hacked off. Magically, the finger falls into Momoko's hands, and she uses it to clone Ryosuke, so she can finally have him (or almost him) for herself. And this is just the first five minutes of Lisa Takeba's short-but-powerful feature debut. Just like in her previous short films, the director - who cut her teeth in the advertising world and as the writer of a video game - throws a lot of genres and techniques into the mix: from science fiction to gangster films, from hospital eroticism to animation. Hectic and absurd, but with its heart in the right place. © IFFR

Dochinpira 3(ja)

One day, Shimoda of the Minato Shinkai gang, appears before Jin. He begs him to buy out his childhood friend, who works at a soapland, on his behalf. Although Jin refuses on the spot, Shimoda's unnatural behavior bothers Jin. Just then, a shooting happens involving the boss of the Hongo-gumi, which is in conflict with the Minato Shinkai. The gruesome image of the gunman, Shimoda, who was shot dead, is shown on television, along with an outline of the incident. However, behind this seemingly simple incident, an unexpected truth is hidden...

Kill Bill: Vol. 1(en)

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

Dochinpira 10(ja)

Chased out of Shōnan for trespassing on gang turf, Jin Kaito flees to Yokohama. There he’s rescued by Makoto, a mysterious and seductive woman that runs the nightclub Southern Cross alongside other women, all sworn off men until their business becomes a hit. Their solution? Hire Jin as their exclusive sexual partner. Now, he lives the dream, satisfying a new woman every day, no strings attached. But things take a dark turn when Makoto’s ex-boyfriend returns, determined to steal control of the club by force.

Motorpsycho!(en)

A vengeful veterinarian and a grieving widow join forces to track down violent bikers after they commit heinous acts against their loved ones.

The Desperate Women(en)

The film is a cheesy but sincere plea for proper sex education--and against illegal abortion.

Versus(ja)

A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.

Fireworks(ja)

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

Salvador(en)

In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.

Dochinpira 11(ja)

After being rejected by the beautiful woman Saeko, Jin approaches an office lady named Tomomi and "pleasures" her, but she turns out to be the mistress of a Shinryu-gumi gang. Meanwhile, he discovers that Saeko is the wife of the murdered underboss of the Issei-kai...

Exposed(en)

A magazine reporter exposes a crooked District Attorney, resulting in his trial. Complications ensue, however, when the man is acquitted.

Dochinpira 5(ja)

Jin gets kicked out of the Ranko's apartment and uses his gigolo skills to find a place to stay for the night. He meets an absolutely gorgeous hostess club girl and she offers a deal: if Jin "finishes" first, he becomes her kept man. Jin wants to be taken care of, but his pride won’t let him lose like that. In the end, though, he’s completely defeated. Now, while his new "owner" keeps Jin around, she’s also being pursued by two men: Toyama, a brainy yakuza, and Oba, the man who sold her to a brothel. As Jin watches the situation unfold, he ends up caught in a dangerous incident far beyond his expectations!

City of Fear(en)

A Canadian reporter gets mixed up in Cold-War politics, romance and espionage in Eastern Europe.

Dochinpira 8(ja)

Jin Kaito is back to his usual game: smooth talk, effortless charm, and a trail of lovers left behind. But everything changes when he meets Kumiko, a stunning, headstrong ex-biker girl who’s completely immune to his advances. Obsessed and intrigued, Jin refuses to give up and, when he learns Kumiko is desperate to help the man she loves pay off a crushing debt, he decides to step in, even if it means crossing the deadly Kuroiwa gang. With the clock ticking and the stakes higher than ever, Jin must risk everything to rescue Kumiko before she’s shipped out of the country.

Dochinpira 7(ja)

Jin Kaito returns to his womanizing ways, despite Ranko's worryings. His next conquest? Tomoko, a fiery beauty who just happens to be the mistress of a powerful yakuza boss. Frustrated by her lover’s impotence, Tomoko unleashes her desires on Jin. But passion turns dangerous and Tomoko, obsessed with him, orders an attack on Ranko. Jin barely saves her and things seem to calm down, when the danger strikes: Kuwata, an ambitious underling, plans to take control over the gang.

唄祭けんか道中(ja)

Black Rain(en)

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Wasabi(fr)

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

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.

The Outsider(en)

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

Black Rain(en)

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

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.

The Yakuza(en)

When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

Hunting Season(en)

When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.

Darc(en)

To bring down a global human trafficking ring, an Interpol agent recruits the help of a brutal criminal with inside knowledge of the yakuza.

Weekend in Taipei(en)

A former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.

Hereafter(en)

Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.

Walkaway Joe(en)

A young boy named Dallas goes on a search for his pool-hustling father after he abandons their family. Dallas is determined to bring his father home when he meets Joe Haley, a drifter wrestling with a past he'd rather forget, who feels responsible for Dallas' safety and reluctantly takes him in.

In Full Bloom(en)

Set shortly after the end of World War II, a philosophical boxing drama of two fighters from opposite worlds (USA and Japan) who are pulled together for a questionable fight arranged by their unscrupulous managers and the Yakuza.

The House on Carroll Street(en)

A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.

Shock Corridor(en)

With the help of his girlfriend Cathy and Dr. Fong, a psychiatrist, ambitious journalist Johnny Barrett poses as a madman in order to be admitted to a mental institution where a bloody murder has been committed.

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.

The Quiller Memorandum(en)

After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.

The Last Days of American Crime(en)

In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.

Rogue Agent(en)

Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.

The 355(en)

A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.

Embattled(en)

The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.

The System(en)

When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.