STAR SANDS

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.

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.

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.

Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's outdated judicial and societal systems.

A teenage girl's accidental death incites a media frenzy and causes her harsh father to turn his rage against those he believes are responsible.

A girl vanishes while walking, leaving her family devastated. As months pass without clues, rumors about her mother's actions intensify online, straining her marriage.

Yoriko, an artist living in rural Nagi, is haunted by a former love affair she cannot bear to mourn. When Yuri, a recently separated architect, travels from Tokyo to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, both women find themselves at a crossroad, each searching for ways to let go of the past and define their identities. Yuri's brief escape from the city settles into a quiet confrontation of loss and probing for the two women in bucolic Nagi.

In a once-scenic village now dominated by a vast trash disposal site, a young man yearns to break free from a cruel fate tying him to the very grounds.

"Yoyochu" is the nick name for Tadashi Yoyogi. He is the father of Japanese adult video. Before becoming a pornographer, he was a flower arranger and a member of the mob. Here, we follow Tadashi Yoyogi as he seeks the truth behind love-making.

Fifteen years ago, an innocent fireworks accident caused by two boys, Ryunosuke and Takumi, destroyed an apartment building. One resident, Nomoto, lost his wife and child in the fire and suffered severe burns across his body. Fifteen years later, Ryunosuke tries to live a "normal" life while suppressing his guilt, whereas Takumi remains emotionally trapped in the past. When Nomoto suddenly reappears before them, the expected confrontation never comes. Instead, he shows an unsettling kindness—one that deeply disturbs Ryunosuke, yet offers a fragile sense of salvation to Takumi. As their paths cross once again in a reunion that should never have happened, the lives of these three individuals begin to shift in ways that will irrevocably alter their futures.

Set in 1945 at the end of World War II. Saku arrives on Kakeromajima as the head of navy special forces. He is admired by the children on the island and he is interested in learning the island song as well as drinking with his men. Toe is an elementary school teacher on Kakeromajima and she has feelings for Saku.

From the late 1950s through the '70s, more than 90,000 of the ethnic Koreans in Japan emigrated to North Korea, a country that promised them affluence, justice, and an end to discrimination. KAZOKU NO KUNI tells the story of one of their number, who returns for just a short period. For the first time in 25 years, Sonho is reunited with his family in Tokyo after being allowed to undergo an operation there. Sonho’s younger sister Rie is at the centre of the film, and is not hard to recognise as the director’s alter-ego. In her documentaries DEAR PYONGYANG and SONA, THE OTHER MYSELF, Yang Yonghi told the story of her own life, and how, at age six, she experienced the departure of her three older brothers, who left their family for Pyongyang.

In Japan, there is an informal agreement between mainstream media and the government that is hardly ever questioned: Journalists are not too persistent in their criticism, in turn representatives of the government grant direct access to select information through press conferences. Isoko Mochizuki, reporter for the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, has established herself as a spoilsport in this system.

Yoko, who gets a job at a nursing home, witnesses the elderly and disabled people there having their human dignity threatened.

Following the comic series and the subsequent television serial of the same name, and featuring the same cast, a young and relatively inexperienced man comes across a woman during his working day and sparks fly.

Miura, an aging ex-yakuza, develops an unexpected bond with Kota, a blind orphan. As they grow closer like family, Miura learns that Kota's sight can be restored with surgery. Determined to help, he steals money from his former yakuza group and leaves it for Kota before turning himself in. 12 years later, Miura is released from prison. Upon learning this, the yakuza plans to kill both Miura and Kota. Miura sacrifices himself to protect Kota, and...

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.

A documentary about workers facing the coronavirus pandemic.

The late Shinzo Abe was the longest-serving prime minister of all time, holding office for 2,822 consecutive days. While his hawkish foreign policy and "Abenomics" economic policies won him support, he also attracted public attention for his controversial words, actions and scandals. Nobusuke Kishi, a politician and the maternal grandfather of former Prime Minister Abe, was nicknamed the "Monster of the Showa Era" for his ability to manipulate the political and business worlds by walking the fronts and backs of society. The film explores the mysteries of his blood and upbringing that led him to adopt an extremely "forward-looking" political stance in order to realize his ambitions, which were imprinted in his childhood mind as his "grandfather's teachings". With black humor and satirical picture books, the film unravels who former Prime Minister Abe was and what he left behind for this country.