CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT
Take a walk on the wild side with edgy indie director Masashi Yamamoto (Junk Food; Robinson's Garden), who captures the punk scene of 1980s Japan in this prickly early film. Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, Yamamoto gets the most out of a cast of young toughs who more or less play themselves, while shooting on 16mm in a gritty, grainy style. In Japanese with English subtitles.
DEAR PYONGYANG
A young girl's father sends her three brothers from Japan to a live permanently in a homeland foreign to them -- North Korea. In this autobiographical documentary spanning ten years, the daughter left behind, filmmaker Yonghi Yang, struggles to understand why her loving father would destroy his family out of political loyalty to an isolated and enigmatic regime.
MARRONNIER
The Japanese horror comic writer, Junji Ito, presents a doll horror movie directed by master puppeteer Hideyuki Kobayashi. In Japanese with English subtitles.
NORIKO'S DINNER TABLE
NORIKO'S DINNER TABLE is Japanese poet and filmmaker Sion Sono's semi-sequel to his 2001 cult hit Suicide Club. Utilizing a fragmented and non-linear structure, the film depicts a world in which characters only find their true selves by abandoning their identities. In Japanese with English subtitles.
PEEP "TV" SHOW
PEEP "TV" SHOW, Yutaka Tsuchiya's award-winning film, portrays the alienation and media-culture obsession of Tokyo's new generation. In Japanese with English subtitles.
TAKING FATHER HOME
First-time director Ying Liang's poignant story of a teenage farm boy sent by his mother from his rural roots to find his father who abandoned the family in search of fortune in the big city. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
These Films are No Longer Available through Tidepoint
A2
A2, the companion documentary to Tasuya Mori's A, further explores Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for sarin gas killings in Tokyo's subways. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE
In this fantasy drama by Malaysian New Wave director James Lee, Teoh's second-hand washing machine makes his life easier, but it has a life of her own -- literally. When Teoh discovers the secret soul of this temperamental household helper, he exploits the washing machine for all it -- or she -- is worth. In Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles.
Past Release
CHAOS
From Hideo Nakata, the director of "Ring" and "Dark Water", comes a psychological thriller that blends the styles of Japanese suspense, neo-noir and the erotic drama in a tantalizing mélange.
Past Release
DEAD OR ALIVE
Prolific cult-fave auteur Takashi Miike's neon and plasma soaked vision of Tokyo's crime-riddled Shinjuku district, a smoldering netherworld of sleazy strip joints, murky gangster dens and out-of-the-way eateries where there's more on the menu than just noodles!
Past Release
ELECTRIC BUTTON
She was the star of her erotica writers’ group. He was the group’s newest member. When she discovers that he knows nothing about writing and even less about sex, she decides to teach him -- everything. An erotic comedy written and directed by Japan’s leading new female director, Yuki Tanada.
Past Release
ELIANA, ELIANA
Riri Riza's award-winning ELIANA, ELIANA leads the new wave of independent Indonesian cinema and depicts two generations of women struggling to reconnect and communicate amidst the raw demands of contemporary life in Jakarta. In Indonesian with English subtitles.
Past Release
LATE BLOOMER
He was disabled with Cerebral Palsy, but all he wanted was to hang out with his friends, just like anybody else. Beer, rock and roll, and women. But when his best friend steals his secret love, he launches into a cold-blooded rampage of revenge. Directed by Go Shibata, powerful new Japanese talent, LATE BLOOMER features stark and highly stylized camera work and a soundtrack by World's End Girlfriend.
Past Release
LONG DREAM
Long Dream. Directed by Higuchinsky (Uzumaki) and based on a horror manga by Junji Ito, Long Dream tells the story of a patient who checks himself into the hospital because he sleeps too much and can't tell what's real life and what's just a dream. Or a nightmare... In Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles.
Past Release
THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE
This Kaizo Hayashi film describes a tale of bonding and betrayal among friends, family and gang members. A masterful suspense melodrama set in the seedy underworld of Yokohama and Taiwan, it’s the first in the trilogy featuring private detective Maiiku Hama. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
NAOYUKI TSUJI'S EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION COLLECTION
NAOYUKI TSUJI is an independent animator whose wildly fanciful animated works are unlike any "anime" to come out of Japan heretofore. His films have been invited to screen at the Cannes Film Festival as well as at major art museums worldwide including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
ROBINSON'S GARDEN
Independent filmmaker Masashi Yamamoto, known for his uneasy dramas that capture the restless spirit of Japan's youth, appropriates the central idea from The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and transplants it to modern-day Tokyo. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
SHARK SKIN MAN AND PEACH HIP GIRL
Katsuhito Ishii’s film turns the classic getaway story on its ear in this highly stylized tale of hit men determined to recover their stolen loot. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
THE STAIRWAY TO THE DISTANT PAST
Can't get enough of the private detective Maiku Hama? Don’t miss The Stairway to the Distant Past, third in the Hama trilogy. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
THE TRAP
If you loved The Most Terrible Time in My Life, check out The Trap, second in the trilogy featuring private detective Maiiku Hama. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
UZUMAKI
UZUMAKI. A film by the acclaimed music video director Higuchinsky and based on the manga by Junji Ito, Uzumaki is a harrowing tale of possession, mystery and murder. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Past Release
VISITS
Visits: Hungry Ghost Anthology. A disturbing omnibus of interwoven ghost stories directed by four of the new wave of Malaysian filmmakers.
Past Release
WOMAN OF MUD
Mark is an aspiring horror writer chosen as an entrant to a prestigious story writing contest abroad. Backpacking to an isolated hut in the Philippine hills to begin writing his opus, he suddenly meets a mysterious Shaman who gives him a seed to plant in the mud. It grows into a tree that sprouts a giant fruit bearing a naked, breathtakingly beautiful and voluptuous woman. Little does Mark know that what appears to be a fantasy come true is actually a nightmare that’s become frighteningly real.
Past Release