Masahiro Handa

Sensei's Pious Lie

Misuzu Hara (Nao) works as a high school teacher and prefers to keep a distance from her students. In her past, she was raped by her best friend’s boyfriend Hayafuji after he found out she liked him. She didn't report the crime to the police and she didn't tell anyone else what happened. She still suffers from the trauma from what happened, but she continues to have a forceful relationship with Hayafuji who is now her best friend’s fiancee. One day, a rumor spreads that her student Yuki Niizuma is in a secret affair. Misuzu Hara, as his teacher, has a meeting with him to provide counseling.

Migawari Mission

Kozukenosuke Kira is slashed with a sword by Ako Daimyo, who holds deep contempt towards Kozukenosuke Kira. Ako Daimyo then kills himself. Both of their families now fall into a big crisis. At this time, a vassal for the Kira family comes up with an extraordinary solution. The plan calls for Takaaki Kira, who is the younger brother of Kozukenosuke Kira, to pretend he is his older brother and deceive the shogunate. Takaaki Kira looks virtually identical to his older brother.

Undercurrent

Kanae's husband disappeared without a trace while on a union trip. Though usually headstrong and independent, the woman becomes plagued with worry over what happened to him, and is unable to move on with her life. Thus, Kanae decides to hire a private investigator, and keeps running the public bathhouse to the best of her abilities. As he tries to figure out the truth about her husband, Kanae must deal with the stress from a work-intensive job, meddlesome neighbors, and recurring nightmares in which she is drowning.

Twilight Cinema Blues

Kondo, a man with a reason for returning to his hometown of Ginpei-cho, where he spent his youth, unexpectedly meets Sato, a homeless man who loves movies, and Kajiwara, the manager of a movie theater. He starts working part-time at the theater. Surrounded by the theater staff and colorful regular customers, he gradually begins to find renewal, but...

Small, Slow But Steady

A hearing-impaired woman with dreams of becoming a professional boxer due to the pandemic is threatened closure of her boxing club and the illness of its ageing president, who has been her biggest supporter, push her to the limit.

20-Year-Old Soul

A young music lover named Asano Daiyoshi died at the young age of 20. In that fact, there is a feeling that a miracle that cannot be imagined overflows the bonds of many people. Feel the brilliance of life that you can live powerfully even if it is short. It's a movie that everyone can sympathize with and give courage to tomorrow.

Tsuyukusa

Middle-aged Fumi lives a quiet seaside life, she spends her days working at a small local factory, spending time with her neighbor’s son, and attending her sober-lifestyle group. One night while driving home her car is struck by a small meteorite, the odds of which are 100 million to 1. Seeing this as a good omen, Fumi decides she should be open to new possibilities in her life, even perhaps romance…

The Cursed Sanctuary X

Kaname Azuma is sick of her marriage life with her husband and she decides to divorce him. She leaves Japan and travels to South Korea. There, she visits her brother Teruo's villa. Teruo is surprised by Kaname's sudden visit, but after he hears of her marriage life, he lets her to stay with him. Somehow, Teruo and Kaname happen to enter The Cursed Sanctuary X.

Love Mooning

Hiroshi, who runs a mental clinic, has never recovered from the shock of his wife’s suicide. One day, Ayako, a mysterious patient comes to his clinic….

Last of the Wolves

After Shogo Ogami’s death in Hiroshima, Detective Shuichi Hioka successfully implemented Shogo Ogami’s plan, which was to control the yakuza to prevent further gang wars and save innocent people from getting harmed. Shuichi Hioka manages the criminal organizations, but, due to one evil person who gets released from prison, the situation drastically changes.

Inubu: The Dog Club

Hanai Sota is 22-years-old and a university student in the veterinary department. Since he was little, he has always loved animals. His apartment is full of animals that needed help. One day, Hanai Sota saves a dog that was being used in experiments. To save more of the animals, he sets up the "Inubu" club. His friend Shibasaki Ryosuke, among other people, joins the group. Shibasaki Ryosuke also loves dogs and is a student in the same veterinary department as Hanai Sota. They work hard to protect the animals. 16 years later, a report comes out. The report is about Hanai Sota, who was arrested.

The Asian Angel

Aoki is a failing novelist, and Sol is a failing pop singer. Encountering each other in South Korea, speaking different languages, they and their families somehow end up in a truck heading off into the Korean countryside.

A Madder Red

7 years ago, Yoichi died in a traffic accident. His wife Ryoko did not receive compensation from her husband's death. She has since raised her son Junpei by herself. Junpei is now a middle school student. Ryoko also cares for her father-in-law, who lives in a nursing home and she also runs a cafe. Her care is in a difficult situation due to Covid-19, while Junpei experiences bullying at school.

Garden of Camellias

Kinuko was married to her husband for many years, but her husband passed away. Since then, Kinuko has lived in the same home with her granddaughter Nagisa.

A Family

Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.

Child of the Stars

When Chihiro was a baby, she suffered from eczema. Her parents tried to find a cure, but nothing worked. Her father's co-worker then gave him some water from a strange religious group. Chihiro was miraculously cured by the water. Her parents began to follow the strange religion and became fervent followers. Chihiro is now in the 3rd grade of middle school and she faces changes in her life.

The Brightest Roof in the Universe

14 year-old schoolgirl Tsubame is into university student Toru. She sees him in her area and really wants to be his. She struggles with how to inform him of her love. Then her stepmother becomes pregnant and she is distracted with that development. The one reliable part of her life is the calligraphy class she attends, but then she runs into a woman.

MOTHER

Shuhei is leading a tough life. His alcoholic mother Akiko can only hook up with bad guys and order Shuhei to go get money from his disapproving grandparents instead of going to school. Except raising the little half-sister, his rock-bottom life seems to have no end.

Howling Village

After her brother goes missing, a young psychologist visits an infamous haunted and cursed location known as ‘Howling Village’ to investigate his disappearance and uncover her family’s dark history.

One Night

A family reunites after 15 years. They each have a story to tell as they have not forgotten what happened years ago.

Mr. Hikita, I Am Knocked Up

A couple are perfectly happy to not breed and procreate. Thus their life is a content and unselfish one. He writes and admires his wife. However, she informs him that she wants a child. They try and try, but alas are not successful. It is time to visit a physician to unlock the fertility riddle. Well, he is the culprit it seems

The Promised Land

A girl is kidnapped and the perpetrator roams freely. When a similar case occurs along the same road and in similar circumstances a suspect is identified leading to the accused running away and going into hiding.

The Witness

Natsume Hamanaka was a police rookie with a promising future until she was in a car crash that killed her brother and took her eyesight. Three years later, she gets around with her seeing-eye dog Pal, but she’s unable to get over her regret and devastation.

Strawberry Song

Kota runs into his old friend Chika on the anniversary of their friend's death. They plan to meet again in a year, but their feelings are complicated.

The Journalist

It is the job of the press to cover corporate crime, government plots and society. It is in this context that young female reporter on the beat Erika rolls up her sleeves and goes to work regarding what seems to be a government cover up. She is dealing with a government bureaucrat called Sugihara. It seems as if a clash is inevitable.

To the Ends of the Earth

A young Japanese woman named Yoko finds her cautious and insular nature tested when she travels to Uzbekistan to shoot the latest episode of her travel variety show.

One Arm

A woman lends an admirer her arm for the course of one night for him to find pleasure with it... An eerie erotic short story by Nobel Prize laureat Kawabata Yasunari is turned into minimalist animation of dazzling beauty indebted to Alfons Maria Mucha. A true gem created by two anime giants.

First Love

One night in Tokyo, Leo, a young boxer, meets his first love, Monica, an imprisoned sex worker. Caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, they find themselves pursued by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin.

Little Love Song

A popular high school band is scouted by a Tokyo-based record company. The band is involved in a car accident, however, shattering many hopes. The band receives a demo tape from a girl who lives on the navy base. They are reinvigorated.

Meeting Myself

Twelve years ago Ikeda Toru was a skilled fisherman until he crossed paths with a storm while out fishing. He lost all of his memories from that time and now lives his days troubled, never going fishing. Unable to bear seeing Toru in such a state, his mother Nobuko puts into motion a plan intended to revive Toru's memories.

Aiuta: My Promise to Nakuhito

Not having the courage to love, Toru became an adult. One day, he meets his and old friend who happens to find a poem which changes will his fate. This will make Toru gain enough courage to face love once again. He meets a girl Nagi who is bond into his fate, though she has a particular secret

His Lost Name

Middle-aged widower Tetsuro finds an unconscious, homeless young man on the riverbank in his small seaside town. Offering him room in his home, Tetsuro and the man who calls himself Shinichi develop a father-son dynamic, despite the secrets that linger between them.

Come On Irene

Iwao Shishido has found a wife. After paying three million yen for a bridal tour to the Philippines, he comes home with Irene, who is promptly confronted by Tsuru—Iwao’s freshly widowed mother, who’s infuriated her loser son has married a woman she’s never met.

Born Bone Born

A visibly pregnant Yuko returns home to find her family still grappling with the recent passing of her mother, Emiko, while her father becomes increasingly withdrawn and her older brother hopelessly combative.

Miko Girl

Shiwasu's mother left their home when Shiwasu was a little girl. Shiwasu does not understand why. She is a woman now and working at a Shinto shrine as a shrine maiden under her father who is a priest. She is listless until she finds a little boy alone on the shrine's grounds. The boy's mother shows up and retrieves her son a couple of days later. That is not the end of it however. The boy is back soon and has marks and bruises on his body. In the meantime, there was petty theft going on.

A Whale of a Tale

Entering the political fray of environmentalism versus tradition raging a round the issue of dolphin hunting in Taiji, Japan since the 2009 release of The Cove, Megumi Sasaki’s documentary is the finely balanced film essay the frayed topic has been waiting for. Instead of propping up images of animal slaughter or beleaguered fishermen, A Whale of a Tale focuses on points of contact and communication between the two sides, foreign activists devoting years to the cause and agricultural workers who have developed a first-name familiarity. Sasaki (Herb & Dorothy) collaborates with journalist Jay Alabaster to examine the historical and material conditions that contributed to local whaling practice and the pressures of globalism and localism that keeps this issue in ideological deadlock—at least for now. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

Ah, Wilderness: Part 2

Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.

Ah, Wilderness: Part 1

Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.

Kiseki: Sobito of That Day

Based on the true story of 4 member Japanese pop group "GreeeeN.” Jin is the producer of “GreeeeN” and his younger brother Hide is the lead member for the group. Their song "Kiseki" is released as their 7th single and becomes a huge hit. Hide and the other 3 members have others jobs including working as a dentist.

Spring Has Come

Riko, who will begin university in Tokyo in spring, journeys there from Hiroshima in February with her father to find a place for her to live. On their travels, they meet various colorful characters. The father remembers his late wife, and raising his daughter alone. Their fun time together is tinged with the knowledge that it is about to end. Rakugo performer Kyotaro Yanagiya appears in his first leading film role, and rising star Anna Ishii plays the sensitive Riko. The eccentric supporting cast includes Romi Park, Akihiro Kakuta, Keiko Yanagawa, Kei Ishibashi, LaSalle Ishii, and Momiji Yamamura.