Otaku - Children of the Virtual Empire

The Japanese Version

How the Japanese process American pop culture and make it their own -- a mind-bending odyssey through cultural mixing.

Freedom for the Wolf

The Real Story of Fake Democracy. Filmed over three years in five countries, FREEDOM FOR THE WOLF is an epic investigation into the new regime of illiberal democracy. From the young students of Hong Kong, to a rapper in post-Arab Spring Tunisia and the viral comedians of Bollywood, we discover how people from every corner of the globe are fighting the same struggle. They are fighting against elected leaders who trample on human rights, minorities, and their political opponents.

Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire

Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. This period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Samurai Japan: The Story Behind the WBC Clean Sweep

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?

American Movie

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.

The Road to the Tokyo Olympics

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.

The Zen Mind

In the last fifty years the culture of Zen has spread far beyond Japan. Zen centers and zen retreats have sprung up throughout America and Europe. When Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, brought Zen to Japan from China 800 years ago, it quickly took root and became an integral part of Japanese life. Yet what do we know about zen practice in Japan today? The Zen Mind is a fascinating journey across Japan to explore zen in its natural habitat.

The Great Wall of Japan

After the disaster of March 2011, the Japanese authorities decided to build a gigantic 15 meter high, 500 kilometer long, anti-tsunami wall, separating the land and the ocean. But what is the environmental and human impact of this wall? The population is divided on their opinion: should they cut the island off from the sea or stay vulnerable to tsunamis? Is there another way?

Last Room

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.

ONE OK ROCK with Orchestra Japan Tour 2018

ONE OK ROCK with Orchestra Japan Tour 2018 features the final performance of the special concert held at Osaka-jo Hall in October 2018, where the band performed with a 53-member orchestra, alongside footage from the Saitama Super Arena show. The release also includes a 100-page booklet packed with newly shot member photos, commentary, live reports, and interviews with the production team, offering a deeply engaging read.

Arirang Rhapsody

The protagonists of the film are the Zainichi Korean women living in Kawasaki. They were tossed about by the war, and after many trips to and fro across the sea in search of a place to live, they finally arrived in Kawasaki, where they have lived modestly and vigorously.

My Date with Drew

Ever since the second grade when he first saw her in E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on Drew Barrymore. Now, 20 years later he's decided to try to fulfill his lifelong dream by asking her for a date. There's one small problem: She's Drew Barrymore and he's, well, Brian Herzlinger, a broke 27-year-old aspiring filmmaker from New Jersey.

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief

Welcome to The Great Happiness Space: Rakkyo Café. The club's owner, Issei (22), has a staff of twenty boys all under his training to become the top escorts of Osaka's underground love scene. During their training, they learn how to dress, how to talk, how to walk, and most importantly, how to fake relationships with the girls who become their source of income. Join us as Osaka's number one host boy takes us on a journey through the complex and heartrenching world of love for sale in the Japanese underground.

Tora-san of Goto

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.

Professional Special: Director Miyazaki Hayao

White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Steven Okazaki presents a deeply moving look at the painful legacy of the first -- and hopefully last -- uses of nuclear weapons in war. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors - many who have never spoken publicly before - and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, White Light/Black Rain provides a detailed exploration of the bombings and their aftermath.

Joanne Martin: A Life in Miniature

A septuagenarian woman from St. Louis, Missouri has been a miniaturist, businesswoman, museum president, Girl Scout leader, teacher, student, mother, daughter, and most of all, an indomitable human spirit. Life is what you make it.

Being Japanese

A documentary exploring what it means to be Japanese.