Giants and Toys

Woman in the Dunes(ja)

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

The Shadow of Fear(ja)

In the backstreets of Ginza, the boss of a hairdressing salon is found dead, killed by strangulation. The detective on the case soon hears rumors about the murder.

The Naked Island(ja)

A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.

18 Roughs(ja)

Experienced shipyard worker Shimazaki gets an offer of free lodging from his employer in the company seaside rest house if he agrees to see to its running. After moving in, Shimazaki finds out that this will also mean taking care of a flock of youngsters, and he soon becomes their none-too-successful warden. At work the boys are disciplined, as soon as they return to their dormitory however they turn into an unmanageable mob.

Intentions of Murder(ja)

The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.

The Pornographers(ja)

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

Fighting Elegy(ja)

Kiroku boards with a Roman Catholic family and falls for the daughter Michiko. He ignores his feelings, joins a gang, gets in fights and, eventually, becomes involved with the radical Kita Ikki group.

Pigs and Battleships(ja)

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.

The Catch(ja)

Towards the end of the Second World War, a downed U.S. pilot is captured and imprisoned by rural Japanese villagers, who await official instructions as to how to proceed with their “catch.”

Kisses(ja)

Kinichi and Akiko meet when they visit their fathers in prison. After successfully gambling on a bicycle race, they spend an enjoyable day together at the beach.

Street of Love and Hope(ja)

A young man runs a scam selling pigeons that always return to his home. He falls under the wing of Kyoko, an older student whose heart is touched after Masuo sells his pigeons to her. However, after his scam is revealed, can these feelings truly remain the same?

Crazed Fruit(ja)

Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking.

Gate of Flesh(ja)

In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.

Gushing Prayer(ja)

High-school student Yasuko, indulges in sex to liberate herself from a corrupt adult society. Driven by the encouragement of her peers to feel what it is like to be a prostitute, Yasuko sets out an odyssey of self-exploration in search of complete satiation.

Killers on Parade(ja)

A vengeful contractor hires a series of young killers to target a woman muckraker. Trouble brews when an amateur marksman shows up his eclectic competition.

The Sun's Burial(ja)

In Osaka's slum, youths without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the buying and selling of identity cards and of blood. Alliances constantly shift. Tatsu and Takeshi, friends since boyhood, reluctantly join Shin's gang. Shin's an upstart and moves his gang often to avoid the local kingpin. Hanoko is a young woman with ambitions: first she's in the blood business with her father, then she joins forces with Shin. She soon breaks off that partnership, even though she's taken the sensitive Takeshi under her wing. Double crosses multiply. Those with the closest bonds become each others' murderers.

Night and Fog in Japan(ja)

Uninvited guests crash a former student radical's wedding and accuse him, his bride and other guests of ignoring their political commitments.

Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets(ja)

An experimental, psychedelic odyssey through Japanese subculture experienced via the eyes of a disillusioned young man, who must contend with intense familial dysfunction, psychosexual alienation, and existentialist malaise.

Tattooed Life(ja)

After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother.

Cruel Story of Youth(ja)

A budding gangster enthralls a freeloading young woman, soon taking advantage of her knack for hitch-hiking to rob middle-class, middle-aged men.

Berlim(pt)

David's traumatic pet loss is taking a toll on his mental health. We follow him on his grieving process that mostly consists of drinking all day and wandering the streets looking for his deceased cat, Berlim. This short film was made for the 48 Hour Film Project.

The House of the Bories(fr)

Julien, a renowned geologist, lives with his wife Isabelle and their two children in a country house. But his sullen, uncompromising attitude leaves tensions high. The arrival of Carl-Stephane, a young German student, brings a breath of fresh air and lightness to the household.

The Most Valuable Wife(ja)

Kyoko is the third daughter of the Nonomiya family, a very ordinary family. Momoko, the eldest daughter, is married to Ichiro, the president of Mihara Shoji, and Riko, the second daughter, is married to Jiro, the managing director, and they plot to marry Kyoko to Saburo, the third son of the Mihara family. Kyoko is angry at the marriage talk that is being pushed forward without her permission, and declares that she "definitely won't get married," but before she knows it, she begins to become aware of the other person...

Strawberry Shortcakes(ja)

Follows the ups and downs of four female friends in Tokyo looking for love and trying to cope with the responsibilities in their lives.

Red Angel(ja)

In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. She has to assist the surgeon Dr. Okabe with an incredible number of amputations. In the crowded wards, she gives sympathy to some of the soldiers, including sexually servicing one who has lost both arms and has no hope of returning home. She falls in love with Dr. Okabe, and follows him to the front, even though he is impotent from his morphine addiction.

Don't Blink(en)

A young man talks to his psychiatrist about strange visions he has been having in his dreams.

Soldier Jack, or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack(en)

Adapted from an Appalachian Jack Tale set in the late 1940s, this tale follows a World War II veteran named Jack who, in return for an act of kindness, receives two magical gifts: a sack that can catch anything and a jar that can show whether a sick person will recover or die. Jack becomes a national hero when he rescues the president's daughter from a serious illness by capturing Death in his magic sack. However, after many years without Death in the world, Jack realizes that he has upset the natural order and releases Death to save humankind from perpetual old age and misery.

Frontera(en)

The theater group within the prison of Cuatro Caminos, which includes a total of six prisoners-eight volunteers, it was decided to stage the play "12 Angry Men". However, his dream will be lowered when a contagious infection forced to remain isolated inside. Fear and lack of information to jump trigger alarms and the group is consumed by stress. With the participation of real prisoners, this film is an innovative proposal to help them pass and live, while participating in a larger project.

Shadow on the Mountains(en)

Shadow on the Mountains (Arthur Elton, 1932) is a classic English pastoral, with impressionistic views of the English countryside as it expounds the virtues of farming and shepherding.

Absolute Evil(en)

Southern Texas. Savannah and Cooper, a young couple in love, drive through the desert in a black 70s Cadillac convertible. Unaware that they are being followed, they check into a motel at the Mexican border. When Savannah leaves to buy food, a cop sneaks into the room, pulls his gun on Cooper, accuses him of murder and tries to arrest him. But Savannah, who had become suspicious, manages to turn the tables:

Im Schatten der Weltstadt(en)

Documentary about social division in Berlin.

Thanks to Grandpa for the Victory(ru)

An ordinary city boy comes with his dad to visit his grandfather in the village. There he is met by not very friendly local guys and a girl with whom he immediately falls in love. Grandfather constantly tells funny stories about his glorious military past, which open up a completely new, magical world for him, teach him the main values ​​​​of life and make a real man.

Новогодний квартирник НТВ у Маргулиса: «Гараж желаний»(ru)

Upstairs(en)

Jennifer Saint finally receives validation that she’s not delusional when her late father reaches out from beyond the grave to confirm that their dark family secret is in fact the disturbing & sinister truth.

Make me the Next Model Too(en)

Make me the Next Model Too is a model competition

Drunktown's Finest(en)

On a desolate Navajo reservation in New Mexico, three young people – a college-bound, devout Christian; a rebellious and angry father-to-be; and a promiscuous but gorgeous Nádleehi (trans person)- search for love and acceptance.

T3EN TIGADA(en)

Three friends device a plan that could help them ACE their accountings exam. The plan is - to steal the paper. What follows then is situational & slapstick comedy with a hilarious twist!

Freddie Steps Out(en)

High school student Freddie Trimball bears an uncanny resemblance to famous radio singer Frankie Troy. When Troy goes missing, people mistake Freddie for the singer, and further complications ensue when Troy's wife and child show up.

On Again—Off Again(en)

This wacky vaudeville-style romp casts the irreverent comedy team as feuding co-owners of a drug company, William “Willy” Hobbs and Claude Augustus Horton, who agree to wrestle each other for the sole ownership of the business. The winner will take the company and the loser must become the other’s valet for a year. But when Hobbs loses, he sends his wife to Florida and schemes to trick Horton. What follows are hilarious hijinks as only Wheeler and Woolsey can pull off!