Izumi Matsuno

Uzumasa Jacopetti

Set in Uzumasa, Kyoto, Shoji Hyakkan lives with his wife and kid happily. He then begins to build a house held together by magnets. One night, Koji steals and kills a cow, to use its cowhide as decoration wall material for his magnet house. By chance, Police Officer Kobayakawa happens to see what Shoji Hyakkan is doing. Police Officer Kobayakawa then offers Shoji a deal. (c) Asianwiki

Ebony Dream

We are not conscious while sleeping so we don't know what our bodies are doing in the real world. It might be a brain bug that makes our body move unconsciously like sleepwalking. This is an experimental work for recognizing a conscious state.

Black Ox

In the Meiji Period, in the 19th century Japan, transitioning towards modernization, BLACK OX explores the relationship between man and ox, inspired by the “Ten Ox-Herding Pictures” a series of short poems and illustrations from Zen Buddhism tradition that depict the path to enlightenment and spiritual awakening. BLACK OX follows the life of a Man, a former hunter-gatherer who loses his connection to the gods of nature and to his spirituality in the process of becoming a farmer and becoming “Japanese” during the nation’s period of westernization in the Meiji Period. Transitioning from a life in the mountains to a life in the farm, one day he comes across a Black Ox. He somehow succeeds in leading the reluctant animal back to his home, and begins living with it. The OX becomes his companion in a life of seasons in the attempt to reconnect with nature.

Evil Does Not Exist

Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to nature.

I Am What I Am

Kasumi doesn't know what love is and she doesn't have any feeling of romance. Due to her sister's marriage, her mother arranged a formal marriage arrangement without her permission. At the meeting, she met a man who is just seeking a friend.

I Am What I Am

Kasumi doesn't know what love is and she doesn't have any feeling of romance. Due to her sister's marriage, her mother arranged a formal marriage arrangement without her permission. At the meeting, she met a man who is just seeking a friend.

Your Lovely Smile

A bittersweet, hilarious, enlightening and inspirational road trip through Japanese arthouse cinemas with a heartily independent filmmaker, who also struggles to release his own movies in real life.

The World of You

High school student Yuki suffers from a chronic disease and has lost hope for living. One day she has a life-changing encounter with Aki, her destructive classmate with a beautiful singing voice. Together they decide to form a band with Yusuke who secretly has feelings for Yuki.

Would You Like to Go to the Cinema Today?

An omnibus movie produced to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Motomachi Eigakan.

Come and Go

Tourists, foreigners and outcasts converge on the streets of Osaka in this sprawling ensemble drama by Japan-based, Malaysia-born filmmaker Lim Kah Wai. His eighth feature explores the lesser-known aspects of the Asian melting pot city through the eyes and experiences of a dozen characters who struggle to find their place in society: among them a Nepali refugee with dreams of opening a restaurant, a Burmese student struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs, and a Taiwanese sex tourist who travels to meet his favorite adult video actress.

Third Time Lucky

Noted screenplay writer Nohara's debut film is an ensemble drama set in Kobe, where a young man who has lost his memory intersects with the veiled emotions of people around him.

Third Time Lucky

Noted screenplay writer Nohara's debut film is an ensemble drama set in Kobe, where a young man who has lost his memory intersects with the veiled emotions of people around him.

What is it that you said?

On April 7, 2020, the first state of emergency was declared in Japan. People disappeared from the streets and movie theaters and museums closed their doors. Whatever happens in the world around us, the existence of you and I remain unchanged. As long as we can recognize each other correctly, we should be able to maintain our sanity to some extent. It doesn't matter if someone is still asleep in the hospital, or if the neighbor's cat has gone to heaven. Memories live on vividly in our memories. Sometimes they can evolve into exaggerated images, but what is important to me will continue to evolve inside of me. It's the same even if they don't exist in this world. I think it's almost like a prayer. Surrendering myself to the world of images―what this world needs is imagination! Including all the love we have for our neighbors, strangers, and partners.

Echoes From a Bridge

A middle-aged salary man can’t find anyone to talk to. Everybody in his life avoids him, having their own troubles to deal with. Feeling all alone in the huge city one night, he sees a man holding a glowing stick and helping people crossing the railway. Might this man be willing to listen to him?

My Favorite Girl

Kato, a scriptwriter, is in love with Miho—but he can never manage to muster up enough courage to make the relationship anything more than a platonic friendship. Seemingly oblivious to Kato's feelings for her, Miho is always calling him up and spilling her guts about her own love problems. She's in love with someone else, it turns out, but Kato swallows his pride—hearing about it all is almost too much to bear, but he wants to be with Miho as much as he can.

Just the Two of Us

Shunsaku was paralyzed from the neck down at the young age of 36 by a spinal injury suffered in a motorcycle accident. A blind woman named Hanae arrives to be his caregiver. Despite her frustrations with Shusaku's ill-nature and verbal abuse, Hanae also harbors a tremendous sense of being deprived that she doesn't tell others.

Dynamite Wolf

Elementary school boy Hiroto doesn’t have any talents or dreams for the future. One day he sees a wrestling match by popular masked wrestler Dynamite Wolf, and for the first time becomes enthusiastic. He decides to ask Dynamite Wolf to teach him how to fight. Meanwhile, Dynamite Wolf’s foray into politics has become big news… This energetic coming-of-age drama is the first entertainment film by a director who has worked on self-documentaries and POV horror. The star is Kawase Yota from “Rolling” by TOMINAGA Masanori. With strong support from Dotonbori Pro Wrestling, a match scene was shot with 200 extras, taking “Dynamite Wolf” beyond the realm of a typical low-budget movie.

West North West

Kei works at a cocktail bar, while Ai works as a model. Fearing she'll be ostracized by society, Kei chooses not to admit her sexual orientation to anyone, and, as a result, she becomes distressed and lonely. One day, Kei gets close to Naima, an Iranian student studying art in Japan.

Slight Fever

Wakana is a 17-year-old high school student who loves to cook. She enjoys peaceful days with her family and friends, but sometimes she senses delicate changes among people around her. Wakana meets office worker Mizuho through social media where she can talk about her worries, but Mizuho turns out to be a person Wakana never expected to be.

Heaven Is Still Far Away

Yuzo and Mitsuki live together in Yuzo's small apartment, their constant companionship tender and indifferent in turn. Then Yuzo receives a call from Satsuki, a documentarian resolved to make a film about a now-distant family tragedy, and the three meet, to search for some way to account for their relationship with one another, the memories they share, and those they've kept to themselves.

Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face

Pig heads, intestines, megaphones: all these and more have been thrown into crowds of loyal fans following the influential punk band THE STALIN or any of number of Michiro Endo's other bands since 1980. Taking a step in front of the camera, however, Endo offers a very different kind of encounter in this inspiring self-portrait. "Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face" follows the artist, a native of Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, on the 2011 nationwide solo tour celebrating his 60th birthday, which was interrupted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Traveling, performing and talking with fellow musicians and activists, Endo reflects on the past and future of Fukushima, the legacy of Hiroshima, his upbringing and his feelings about his mother, communicated in the song from which the documentary is named.

Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face

Pig heads, intestines, megaphones: all these and more have been thrown into crowds of loyal fans following the influential punk band THE STALIN or any of number of Michiro Endo's other bands since 1980. Taking a step in front of the camera, however, Endo offers a very different kind of encounter in this inspiring self-portrait. "Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face" follows the artist, a native of Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, on the 2011 nationwide solo tour celebrating his 60th birthday, which was interrupted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Traveling, performing and talking with fellow musicians and activists, Endo reflects on the past and future of Fukushima, the legacy of Hiroshima, his upbringing and his feelings about his mother, communicated in the song from which the documentary is named.

Happy Hour

Four women in their thirties reevaluate their relationships, both shared and private, after a startling revelation concerning one's marriage forces each of them to ask one of life's biggest questions: "Am I who I want to be?"

Happy Hour

Four women in their thirties reevaluate their relationships, both shared and private, after a startling revelation concerning one's marriage forces each of them to ask one of life's biggest questions: "Am I who I want to be?"

Save the Club Noon

A documentary about Japan's laws regulating entertainment.

Soul Flower Train

Amamoto travels from his small village to Osaka to find his estranged daughter. When he meets a friendly young woman, she gives him a unique guide of the big city and helps him in his search.

Dressing Up

Ikumi Sakurai is a first year high school student who begins to investigate her dead mothers past.