Born In Summer

Jagdzeit - Den Walfängern auf der Spur

January 2010 •French

Fighting Soldiers

January 1939 •Japanese

Documentary of an Imperial Japanese Army regiment's advance from Shanghai to Wuhan in 1938. This film was shelved before submission to Home Ministry censors amid rumors that Fumio was a Communist.

The Tale of Genji

June 1951 •Japanese

Genji, the illegitimate offspring of a Japanese potentate, goes by the philosophy of "love 'em and leave 'em" as a matter of course. Only when his heart is broken by Awaji does Genji realizes how much pain he himself has caused.

Repas en famille

January 1897 •French

A Japanese family having tea.

Japanese Sword Fencing

October 1897 •French

The earliest surviving Japanese film showing the martial art of kendo.

Toyo's Camera

April 2009 •English

Even though bringing in cameras to the internment camps was prohibited, one man managed to smuggle in his own camera lens and build a camera to document life behind barbed wires, with the help of other craftsmen in the camp. That man was Toyo Miyatake, a successful issei (first generation immigrant) photographer and owner of a photo-shop in the Los Angeles Little Tokyo district, and of one of the many Americans who was interned with his family against his will. With his makeshift camera, Miyatake captured the dire conditions of life in the camps during World War II as well as the resilient spirit of his companions, many of whom were American citizens who went on to fight for their country overseas. Miyatake said, "It is my duty to record the facts, as a photographer, so that this kind of thing should never happen again."

The Outsider

March 2018 •English

A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.

Ballad of Orin

November 1977 •Japanese

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.

Drumming Beat of the Stars

November 2012 •Portuguese

An essay around the streets, as an homage to Fernando Pessoa

School Days with a Pig

October 2008 •Japanese

A sixth grade teacher raises a pig with his class.

The Birth of the Goalie of the 2001 F.A. Cup Final

September 1982 •English

A slow-witted couple decide to start a family.

A Lone Scalpel

June 2010 •Japanese

Dr Toma, a skilled surgeon, starts work at a regional hospital in Japan. After performing an operation to remove a patient’s liver cancer, something that normally would not be done at this hospital, he quickly gains a very good reputation amongst the town’s people. Some of his colleagues become so jealous they are resentful and waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to crucify him. Soon they get their chance as Dr Toma considers performing a controversial operation…

KanZeOn

September 2011 •English

An unusual documentary exploring sound. Unique elements of Japanese culture are revealed through ancient rituals and extraordinary musical spectacles. A young Buddhist priest whose family has been serving a temple for the past 500 years is also a DJ and beat-boxer. A drum teacher takes part in a costume performance of a 700-year-old ghost story. A female performer plays the Sho, a rare bamboo instrument that is believed to imitate the call of the mythical phoenix. The core ideas explaining the magical potential of sound that permeates all parts of the film are presented in the tradition of Shingon Buddhism. These beliefs are explored through following Buddhist chanting lessons for student priests at Shuchiin University in Kyoto.

Island of Loves

June 1982 •Portuguese

This film depicts the life of the 19th-century Portuguese writer Wenceslau De Moraes by means of nine ancient ballads from China. The writer married a Chinese woman after he left his wife and family to go live in Macao. Later, he moved to Japan where he fell in love with a Japanese woman, staying in Japan for the rest of his life. Mixed in with the career and loves of Moraes is the history of Portugal at home and in its colonies.

Sábado

June 2003 •Spanish

"Mother" stands out on the front of her black t-shirt, "Fucker" on the back. And as angrily as these words sound when combined into a curse, is how Antonia behaves. Because she is pregnant, and Victor, who slept with her, is getting married in a few hours to Blanca.

Shinobi no Mono 3: Resurrection

December 1963 •Japanese

[Period covered: 1595-1600] Third film in the famous shinobi no mono series. We last saw ninja Ishikawa Goemon (Raizo Ichikawa), as he was about to be boiled alive. But a good ninja is both hard to find, and even harder to kill. With the help of the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo, Goemon lives to skulk another day, and sets his sights on bringing down the warlord who tried to turn him into soup – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And as always, in the background, the suble hand of Tokugawa Ieyasu is pulling strings as he plots to rule all of Japan!

Shinobi 4: A Way Out

July 2003 •English

The country of Iga is deep in the throws of war. With smaller villages falling one by one, the largest families are in position to vie for their share of the power. Sankai of Minamiyama has his sinister eyes fixed – not only on total control of the area, but on Kagerou as well. After fleeing the village of Shiroyama, Kagerou and Aoi have been relentlessly hunted. And now, with the civil war in full flux, and Aoi in enemy hands, it is time for one last attempt to escape the clutches of the deadly Shinobi hierarchy – or die trying. They are all alone. They can trust no one. They must find a way out.

Shinobi: The Law of Shinobi

May 2002 •Japanese

In the world of the Ninja, fighting skills play a small role in one's rank in the Shinobi order. Kageru is the best in his class, but his birth predestines him to the lower class. His friend Aoi is dealt the same fate; together they'll have to question themselves.

Rosso

November 2021 •English

For an anxious person, being trapped on a boat with someone you don't like can be the tense. Stuck for hours afloat, nothing on the line, bad conversation, and cold winds as resentment rises. Both people chained to a rod and tackle because one won't speak up and admit that they want to go home.

Zen for Nothing

June 2016 •German

Hidden in the wooded mountains on the west coast of Japan lies the small Zen monastery Antaiji. A young woman sets off to immerse herself through autumn, winter and spring in the adventures of monastic life. The young woman is Sabine Timoteo from Switzerland. The abbot of the monastery is Muho Noelke, born in Berlin. An interplay between the philosophy of the Japanese Zen master Kodo Sawaki and the surprises brought forth by everyday life.