“An absorbing portrait of an unfinished era.”
Screen Daily
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“An aesthetically bold, personal animation.” —The Film Stage
With a lived-in granularity and unmistakable visual style, BOUCHRA, the feature debut from acclaimed visual artists Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki, is a singular portrait effortlessly towing the line between documentary, visual art and resonant family drama. Deeply felt, surprisingly sexy and formally adventurous, Bennani and Barki’s distinctive debut forges new ground that “will make it a classic of queer cinema for years to come” (Next Best Picture).
“An elegiac excavation of a girl’s emotional life...delicate and touching.” —The Hollywood Reporter
Chie Hayakawa’s sophomore feature is a tender, often unsettling portrait of childhood grief and the sinuous imagination of an inquisitive young girl. Led by transfixing newcomer Yui Suzuki, RENOIR “delicately articulates the girl’s inner child in a way that allows us to feel it expand across the season,” (IndieWire) and “steps to a delicate rhythm whose echo isn’t heard until the very end” (RogerEbert.com).
“Can hold its own in any comparison with Oshima’s version.” —Japan on Film
Preceding Nagisa Oshima’s renowned telling of the same sensationalized crime, In the Realm of the Senses, by a year, A WOMAN CALLED SADA ABE is “more intimate, more cinematically stylized and arguably more erotic" (Midnight Eye).
“Eccentric, self-reflexive and frequently hilarious” —Asian Movie Pulse
Based on Yoshikazu Fujimoto's novel "Brutus Bruce,” Ecstasy of the Black Rose is a unique, self-referential sex comedy whose flamboyant backdrop of the adult film industry ironically comments on the Roman Porno genre itself. Featuring irreverent set pieces filmed with wild abandon, master director Tatsumi Kumashiro exemplifies how “Nikkatsu’s roman porno films, and Kumashiro’s in particular, covered a broad range of styles and attitudes” (Japan on Film)
“Unconventional and surprising.” —J-Film Pow-wow
Channeling youthful angst, rebellion and ennui, LOVERS ARE WET proved director Tatsumi Kumashiro one of the leading auteurs of the Roman Porno genre with an “unconventional and surprising” production that “demonstrates an admirable degree of attention to both character development and sex scenes alike” (J-Film Pow-Wow).
“One of the finest efforts in the Roman Porno style.” —Asian Movie Pulse
A colorful and mercurial look into the underbelly of Japan’s nightlife, Noboru Tanaka’s raunchy comedy explores the sexual eccentricities of everyday people with just the right mix of unbridled imagination and measured dismay.
“Undoubtedly a classic from [Noboru] Tanaka.” —Taste of Cinema
The second film in Noboru Tanaka's "Showa Era Trilogy," WATCHER IN THE ATTIC is an adaption of a short story by seminal Japanese novelist Edogawa Rampo. Psychologically unbalanced, hauntingly atmospheric and ruthlessly erotic, Watcher in the Attic is a full-tilt descent into a carnal, gothic nightmare with an ending you won't soon forget.
“Deeply human…a keenly observed migrant drama.” —Variety
Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky is a “bittersweet celebration of endurance and sacrifice” (Screen Daily), demonstrating the importance of resilience, friendship and human connection in the face of global tensions surrounding migration and refugee crises worldwide.
“Among the most unmissable films this year.” —Rogerebert.com
In a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life, two rabble-rousing best friends are about to graduate high school. One night they pull a prank on their principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a looming national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways.
“Vigorously evokes the epic tales of crime and punishment...in 1970s American cinema.” —Screen
Belgium, 1995. The shocking disappearance of two young girls leads to the formation of a secret police operation known as Maldoror. Newly recruited officer Paul Chartier is tasked with monitoring a dangerous suspect but soon finds himself in a losing battle against bureaucracy and systemic dysfunction. As official efforts collapse and the case is closed still unsolved, Paul spirals into obsession, pushing him beyond legal and moral boundaries in a relentless pursuit for justice. Inspired by true events, Maldoror is “a propulsive, compelling thriller” (Screen Daily) about crime, punishment and the failures of institutions meant to protect society.
“An arthouse breakthrough for Switzerland's gifted Zürcher brothers.” —Variety
The latest film from acclaimed writer and director Ramon Zürcher (The Strange Little Cat, The Girl and The Spider), The Sparrow in the Chimney is a “darkly engrossing psychodrama of pent-up domestic tensions.” (Variety) With “deep, bold dives into the nightmarish and the surreal” and a venomously comedic touch, this is the “rare film that feels like a catharsis for protagonist and director both,” (The Film Stage).
“ [A] richly detailed fresco reminiscent of a classic pastoral novel.” —The Hollywood Reporter
“The Silver Bear winner for Best Director at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, Chinese filmmaker Huo Meng’s elliptical and elegant sophomore feature proves “a cinema of patience is also a cinema of assurance” (Indiewire). Equal parts coming-of-age tale and epic portrait of provincial life, LIVING THE LAND exists at an apex for Chinese culture in the 1990s.