1726, Sanchu, Okayama Prefecture: farmers negotiate with the feudal domain in order to seek exemption from rising taxes. Infighting leads to suppression by the samurai class, and the farmers band together for battle. It’s a moment of injustice, setting the stage for bravery and sacrifice. However those daring characters remain largely offscreen in Juichiro Yamasaki’s brilliant film. Instead, the cowardly protagonist Jihei (Naohisa Nakagaki) faces a crisis of the risks of rebellion and its aftermath that resonates with our contemporary moment. In this rare independent jidaigeki, Kenta Tawara’s beautiful digital B&W photography channels and refigures luminaries of classical Japanese cinema, boasting rapturous animated sequences by Tomomichi Nakamura and experimental score by Ayako Sasaki.

Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn

A live action adaptation of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Persona4 The ULTIMAX ULTRA SUPLEX HOLD Stage Project

Gin is a 15-year-old boy. He knows that his father is a gay and he wonders if he might be the same. Narumi is a 15-year-old girl. Her mother tells her she should prostitute herself. Narumi decides to go to her father in Tokyo. Gin tells Narumi that he is going as well. The two 15-year-olds set out on a trip to Tokyo.

Innocent 15

A wordless man stages an unexplained hunger strike and the people surrounding him exploit his silence to further their own cause...