Maiko Kawakami

Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results... (imdb)

While visiting Japan, Big Bird wanders off from a guided tour bus in Tokyo, and is lost until a Japanese woman helps him get to where he needs to go. The woman, however, is hiding a secret. (imdb)

Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers. (imdb)

''Sorekawa'' is set in Tokyo in 1909 and is based on a novel by Soseki Natsume, which was published in that year, when the modernization of Japan was well along though far from being universally accepted. Daisuke (Yusaku Matsuda), the 30-ish younger son of a rich and powerful businessman, has broken away from his family to the extent that he lives in his own modest house, though the bills for it and for his servants are paid by the older brother who runs the family business. (nytimes)

'Curse, death & spirit' runs over an hour representing 3 short stories embedded in the Japanase superstition of ghosts. A little understanding of Japanese (and East-Asian) culture in general is a necessity here, since it tends to look at the supernatural through a very different scope than in the Western world. (imdb)

19-year-old freeter Tsuyoshi Osanai enters a school for guide dog trainers after the suicide of a close friend. After 2 years of training, Tsuyoshi becomes an assistant trainer. His first dog to train is Chie.

Tsukiko (Moe Arai) is a member of the photography club in high school. On her way home with friend Kae (Aika Ota), Tsukiko runs into older sister Tomie (Miu Nakamura) who goes to the same high school. Tomie is also with Toshio (Kensuke Owada) - a guy Tsukiko has a secret crush on. Tsukiko is consumed with fierce jealousy over her sister, but at the same time is intoxicated with Tomie's beauty. Tsukiko keeps pressing the trigger on her camera.

Nami is a photographer on the set of a porn film. When photographing a rape scene between a teacher and a schoolgirl, she becomes uncomfortable, having remembered a similar incident in her own past. Muraki, the editor, notices her discomfort and attempts to comfort her. However, he looks like Nami's attacker and she flees from him. (themoviedb)

The 95-year-old director shot the film in his hometown of Ishiuchi, Hiroshima. The story is based on a teacher he had when he was a child. (letterboxd)

Children are being born with special powers. They seek blood for eternal life. And tonight, the victims ...!