Giants and Toys

Woman in the Dunes(ja)

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

The Shadow of Fear(ja)

In the backstreets of Ginza, the boss of a hairdressing salon is found dead, killed by strangulation. The detective on the case soon hears rumors about the murder.

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.

The Face of Another(ja)

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.

Intentions of Murder(ja)

The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.

Pigs and Battleships(ja)

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.

18 Roughs(ja)

Experienced shipyard worker Shimazaki gets an offer of free lodging from his employer in the company seaside rest house if he agrees to see to its running. After moving in, Shimazaki finds out that this will also mean taking care of a flock of youngsters, and he soon becomes their none-too-successful warden. At work the boys are disciplined, as soon as they return to their dormitory however they turn into an unmanageable mob.

Fighting Elegy(ja)

Kiroku boards with a Roman Catholic family and falls for the daughter Michiko. He ignores his feelings, joins a gang, gets in fights and, eventually, becomes involved with the radical Kita Ikki group.

The Pornographers(ja)

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

Kisses(ja)

Kinichi and Akiko meet when they visit their fathers in prison. After successfully gambling on a bicycle race, they spend an enjoyable day together at the beach.

Street of Love and Hope(ja)

A young man runs a scam selling pigeons that always return to his home. He falls under the wing of Kyoko, an older student whose heart is touched after Masuo sells his pigeons to her. However, after his scam is revealed, can these feelings truly remain the same?

The Sun's Burial(ja)

In Osaka's slum, youths without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the buying and selling of identity cards and of blood. Alliances constantly shift. Tatsu and Takeshi, friends since boyhood, reluctantly join Shin's gang. Shin's an upstart and moves his gang often to avoid the local kingpin. Hanoko is a young woman with ambitions: first she's in the blood business with her father, then she joins forces with Shin. She soon breaks off that partnership, even though she's taken the sensitive Takeshi under her wing. Double crosses multiply. Those with the closest bonds become each others' murderers.

Tattooed Life(ja)

After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother.

Assassination(ja)

Assassination begins with the events of 1853 when "four black ships" anchored at Edo Bay, sparking civil unrest and the major political manoeuvring that saw the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. At a time when assassination had become a disturbing political tool, Shinoda's film follows Hachiro Kiyokawa, an ambitious, masterless samurai whose allegiances drift dangerously between the Shogunate and the Emperor.

Cruel Story of Youth(ja)

A budding gangster enthralls a freeloading young woman, soon taking advantage of her knack for hitch-hiking to rob middle-class, middle-aged men.

The Catch(ja)

Towards the end of the Second World War, a downed U.S. pilot is captured and imprisoned by rural Japanese villagers, who await official instructions as to how to proceed with their “catch.”

Crazed Fruit(ja)

Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking.

Gate of Flesh(ja)

In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.

Killers on Parade(ja)

A vengeful contractor hires a series of young killers to target a woman muckraker. Trouble brews when an amateur marksman shows up his eclectic competition.

Night and Fog in Japan(ja)

Uninvited guests crash a former student radical's wedding and accuse him, his bride and other guests of ignoring their political commitments.

The House of the Bories(fr)

Julien, a renowned geologist, lives with his wife Isabelle and their two children in a country house. But his sullen, uncompromising attitude leaves tensions high. The arrival of Carl-Stephane, a young German student, brings a breath of fresh air and lightness to the household.

Dice and Swords(ja)

The year is 1926. It has been three years since the Great Kanto earthquake hit Tokyo. Everything is being rebuilt from the ground up. Odera crime syndicate saw this as an opportunity to expand its territory. The Odera boss arranges marriage between his daughter Orin (Ruriko Asaoka) and the son of notorious Gyotoku clan, but Orin’s heart belonged to Shinjiro (Yujiro Ishihara), a member of her father’s clan.

Berlim(pt)

David's traumatic pet loss is taking a toll on his mental health. We follow him on his grieving process that mostly consists of drinking all day and wandering the streets looking for his deceased cat, Berlim. This short film was made for the 48 Hour Film Project.

Strawberry Shortcakes(ja)

Follows the ups and downs of four female friends in Tokyo looking for love and trying to cope with the responsibilities in their lives.

Red Angel(ja)

In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. She has to assist the surgeon Dr. Okabe with an incredible number of amputations. In the crowded wards, she gives sympathy to some of the soldiers, including sexually servicing one who has lost both arms and has no hope of returning home. She falls in love with Dr. Okabe, and follows him to the front, even though he is impotent from his morphine addiction.

Return(en)

A young couple purchase their new home to start a life together, only to find out the elderly couple next door have other plans for them.

RETURN(en)

‘RETURN’ follows Torstein Horgmo, Mikey Ciccarelli, Mons Røisland, Brandon Cocard, Brandon Davis, and Raibu Katayama as they push the boundaries of what can be accomplished snowboarding when innovative minds join forces.

Film(en)

"This piece, with the generic title Film, is a series of short videos built around one protocol: a snippet of news from a newspaper of the day, is rolled up and then placed on a black-inked surface. On making contact with the liquid, the roll opens and of Its own accord frees itself of the gesture that fashioned it. As it comes alive in this way, the sliver of paper reveals Its hitherto unexposed content; this unpredictable kinematics is evidence of the constant impermanence of news. As well as exploring a certain archaeology of cinema, the mechanism references the passage of time: the ink, whether it is poured or printed, is the ink of ongoing human history." –Ismaïl Bahri

Abandoned Souls(en)

In an underground prison an inmate escapes during a riot. One year later, a group of friends set out to locate an old hermit shack. They're worst nightmares are revealed when they spawn an evil darkness within the escaped prisoner.

(re)kindle(pt)

Ana and Helen, two divorced women, were close friends as teenagers. Today, amidst the corona virus pandemic and in quarantine, they get in touch after 20 years via internet. Through video conference calls, memories, sensations and emotions reflourishes.

She Loves Me Not(en)

A reclusive novelist struggles to find romance and meaning in his life despite disastrous and comedic circumstances.

RED(en)

He was at the bay when his world split in half.

Home(hr)

She watches him through the window as he loads the final pieces of furniture into the truck. They are counting down the last hours in their home. Their seven-month-old baby is asleep, unaware of the trouble brewing. They will either vacate the apartment peacefully, or they will be forcefully evicted. Their home, her father's legacy, used to be their safe haven, their family nest. Now, corrupt courts, greedy bankers, and unscrupulous real estate investors have turned it into a site of their worst nightmares. As tension rise, they struggle to preserve their relationship. In the morning, as police knocks on their door, their future seems uncertain, but their options are very clear: either accept injustice or show resistance.

Kafr Kassem(ar)

On the eve of the Israeli attack on Egypt in 1956, Israel declares martial law in all the occupied Arab territories without any previous notice. When the villagers of Kafr Kassem returned home from the fields, they were butchered and killed in what is known today as the massacre of “Kafr Kassem”.

Piccadilly Zero Hour 12(de)

Asdrúbal, O que há com seu peru?(en)

Asdrúbal is the zoo sweeper, the handyman. One day, when he was feeding the turkeys, he noticed that one of them was talking.

Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)(en)

Filmed April 12, 2003 at a benefit concert held at and for The Anthology Film Archives, the international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of avant-garde and independent cinema. In addition to screening films for the public, AFA houses a film museum, research library and art gallery. The event, which raised money for the Archives and celebrated the life and work of avant-garde film maker Stan Brakhage, featured Sonic Youth providing an improvised instrumental collaboration with silent Brakhage’s films. The band performed with drummer/percussionist Tim Barnes (Essex Green, Jukeboxer, Silver Jews).

The Flight of The Crocodile – Ruy Cinatti’s Timor(pt)

“I am totally in love with Timor!”, said the Portuguese poet, anthropologist and agronomist Ruy Cinatti upon arriving on the island. From 1946 to 1974, he led a nomadic experiment, building a lasting relationship with Timor-Leste’s people and territory. The cultural identity he sought to protect is threatened by colonial oppression and the decline of the Portuguese Empire. Rejecting these circumstances, Cinatti reaches out to the people and its tribes, documenting rituals, filming, photographing and even making blood oaths with tribal chiefs to gain access to sacred places and become a Timorese.

NJPW G1 Climax 33: Day 16(ja)

The sixteenth night of the tournament took place on August 8th, 2023 at Act City Hamamatsu in Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.