Listening to the Air

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami destroyed large parts of the small town of Rikuzentakata. Here, Hiromi ABE hosts a radio show in which she reports on local events and interviews the residents. She focuses not…

Jokyoki

The combination of a detailed screenplay, vivid acting and sincerity ushers in a breath of fresh air into what may otherwise be seen as a banal story. Produced as part of the Community Cinema School Project aimed at…

Goodbye UFO

Wah Fu Estate in Aberdeen is the home of many urban legends, but few were as outlandish as the one that happened in the 1980s: One night, residents turned their heads to the sky and saw a giant UFO hovering above them…

Not One Less

The Municipal Party Committee decided to relocate a severely poverty-stricken Yanzhi village as a whole and merge it into Danxia Village, the richest village in the county. It is difficult to leave one’s home, the…

Samashoal Testament Chapter 6

Photojournalists Naomi Toyoda and Masaya Noda have recorded the situation of Fukushima prefecture ever since it was hit by the nuclear meltdown following the Great East Japan Earthquake. This is “Chapter 6” in…

Care Nin 2: The Flower in Your Heart

Kei Omori is a caregiver who has left his previous job at a small-scale care service to come work at a large-scale nursing home. But he is unable to hide his tremendous discomfort with a management style that prioritizes…

Tobishima

8.0

Out in the Sea of Japan rises the populated island of Tobishima. This documentary chronicles the day-to-day life of the people living there. On Tobishima where population decline and aging continue to advance, there…

His Bad Blood

A father and son are reunited in the most unexpected of places. The father abandoned his 1-year-old son and stole the family's money. 30 years later, a series of burglaries has village residents chasing the son out…

Along the Sea

7.0

Phuong, An, and Nhu are Vietnamese women in their early 20s. The three become illegal residents in Japan after escaping from their workplace as technical trainees. An contacts a broker to help them find work. The broker…

Sisters' Busy Hands

There are many things that a woman's hands can do but wiping tears off is not one of them. This is Meng Meng Betel Nut Stand run by three women, which offers comfort to the residents in this small seaside town. (Source:…