
10 Jun 1948

Design for Death
Documentary Feature winner "Design for Death" (1947) examines Japanese culture and how it led to Japan's role in WWII.
Hidden in the wooded mountains on the west coast of Japan lies the small Zen monastery Antaiji. A young woman sets off to immerse herself through autumn, winter and spring in the adventures of monastic life. The young woman is Sabine Timoteo from Switzerland. The abbot of the monastery is Muho Noelke, born in Berlin. An interplay between the philosophy of the Japanese Zen master Kodo Sawaki and the surprises brought forth by everyday life.
Herself
Himself
10 Jun 1948
Documentary Feature winner "Design for Death" (1947) examines Japanese culture and how it led to Japan's role in WWII.
20 Dec 2012
Pascal, 53, and Carole, 28, are shepherds. In the month of November 2010, they embark on their long winter transhumance: four months during which they will have to cover 600 km in the Swiss-French region, accompanied by three donkeys, four dogs and eight hundred sheep. An exceptional adventure is about to begin: they brave the cold and the bad weather day in day out, with a canvas cover and animal skins as their only shelter at night. This saga reveals a tough and exacting profession, requiring constant improvisation and unflinching attention to nature, the animals and the cosmos. An eventful journey with surprise encounters, moving reunions with farmer friends, nostalgic figures of country life that is shrinking away fast. Αn adventure film, a contemporary road movie, a reflection of our current world, which takes us back to our roots and our inner questions.
01 Aug 1995
The Pearl Jam Movie!! That’s right. Made in 1995 by the band when Jack Irons was drummer and filmed over the course of their 1995 Far-East tour in Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand…it’s half tour documentary and half movie. This movie was apparently scrapped by the band at the final mixing stage for some unknown reason, seems completely unedited/uncut. It full of really wild and weird little skits by the band (like Ed and Jack acting out some strange Godzilla attack on the beach, Mike McCready's stage strip-tease), airplane, backstage & soundcheck footage of all the band members, the band on the streets & taking in the culture of the countries they’re visiting.
07 Aug 2015
An Irish doctor survived the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki and was given a Samurai sword for the lives he saved. 70 years later his family searches for the origin of their father's sword.
30 Jan 2018
At the turn of the 19th and 20th century Finnish philologist G. J. Ramstedt travelled around Mongolia and Central-Asia. In this documentary Ramstedt’s memoirs are heard in the modern day setting, where tradition is replaced with hunger for money, and deserts give way to cities.
06 Nov 2000
Five New York divas close up. The thing that in addition to their friendship links these gifted, confident and beautiful women; a painter, an actress and three musicians, is their shared homeland, former Yugoslavia.
08 Sep 1990
An avant-garde documentary film on English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith.
19 Apr 2015
Imagine waking up tomorrow and all music has disappeared. Just like that. What will remain when it is all gone: CDs, iPods, instruments?
01 Jun 2012
The Japanese population’s reaction to the catastrophe of March 2011 has been described as “stoic” by the Western media. The Japanese code of conduct is indeed deeply rooted in their Buddhist traditions, and young filmmakers Tim Graf and Jakob Montrasio observe in detail what this means for the people and their religion. At graveyards, in temples, at monasteries and with families, they question the impact this triple affliction has had on the lives and beliefs of the inhabitants. How deeply do their beliefs affect their grieving? What role do the monks play in assisting people with their grief? And, what effects has this enormous catastrophe had on their religious rituals? SOULS OF ZEN inserts the events of March 2011 into the context of traditional Zen Buddhism, examining Japan’s religiousness and the beliefs of those practising it at a crucial turning point.
01 Dec 1991
In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japan’s Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self-discovery. Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra undertook a parallel trip inspired by Richie’s by-then-classic book, capturing images of hushed beauty and meeting people who still carried on the fading customs that Richie had observed. Interspersed with surprising detours—a visit to a Frank Sinatra-loving monk, a leper colony, an ersatz temple of plywood and plaster—and woven together by Richie’s narration as well as a score by celebrated composer Toru Takemitsu, The Inland Sea is an eye-opening voyage and a profound meditation on what it means to be a foreigner.
10 Nov 2015
For the men who fought perhaps the fiercest battle of WWII, seventy years have passed. But the memories of those 36 bloody days on Iwo Jima have not. In the spring of 2015, survivors of both sides of the battle returned for the last time to join a Reunion of Honor — a unique, now-peaceful fellowship first forged of fire and bullets.
08 Sep 2002
Filmmaker Peter Mettler embarks on a mission that takes him around the world. He is determined to record the diverse modes of transcendence that people in different cultures adopt in order to live life to the fullest. As he traverses civilization and wilderness and encounters a range of lifestyles and ideas, the filmmaker's mind-expanding trip around the world grows into a poem of images and sounds, reflecting the fragmented but alluring worlds it attempts to capture.
03 Sep 2022
As they play carefree music, their musicianship is met with surprise, wonder, and sometimes even laughter. Captivating all who watch, Otoasobi Project’s rich variety of expression reshapes the concept of improvised music. Formed in 2005 in Kobe, Japan, Otoasobi Project has some 50 members, including people with intellectual disabilities, musicians, and music therapists, who pursue music and well-being through improvised performances. After many years of numerous workshops, concerts, and other activities, they even held their first tour in the UK in September 2013. The movie “Whereabouts of Sound” depicts the appeal of the improvised music Otoasobi creates, and the beauty of its natural, honest expression.
23 Jan 2006
Dear Pyongyang is a documentary film by Zainichi Korean director Yang Yong-hi (Korean: 양영희, Hanja: 梁英姬) about her own family. It was shot in Osaka Japan (Yang's hometown) and Pyongyang, North Korea, In the 1970s, Yang's father, an ardent communist and leader of the pro-North movement in Japan, sent his three sons from Japan to North Korea under a repatriation campaign sponsored by ethnic activist organisation and de facto North Korean embassy Chongryon; as the only daughter, Yang herself remained in Japan. However, as the economic situation in the North deteriorated, the brothers became increasingly dependent for survival on the care packages sent by their parents. The film shows Yang's visits to her brothers in Pyongyang, as well as conversations with her father about his ideological faith and his regrets over breaking up his family.
20 Jan 2011
MUHAI TANG – IN THE OCEAN OF MUSIC is a portrait of Chinese conductor Muhai Tang’s extraordinary life. Born in 1949, the founding year of the People’s Republic of China, and raised during the Cultural Revolution, it seemed as if he would have to abandon his dream of a career in music. However, his talent, perseverance and the support of Herbert von Karajan ultimately brought him to the world’s concert halls. Today, Muhai Tang is a global nomad. A wanderer between the worlds which he unites with music. His personal history, interspersed with historical caesurae, is typical for Chinese of his generation. He gained access to western culture early on through music. Muhai Tang’s life and work are exemplary of a changing China and the enrichment of the world by an artist between East and West.
11 Sep 2019
Through poetic cinematography and stories of teachers sharing their wisdom with children from a range of backgrounds, the film showcases the benefits of mindfulness as a way out of violence and suffering, and as an attainable solution for younger generations.
15 Feb 2020
Few Americans realize that the Battle of Midway - just six months after Pearl Harbor - doomed the Japanese to defeat. Discover how Admiral Nimitz and Admiral Yamamoto, two leaders from vastly different cultures, designed and executed their battle plans. See the spectacular naval and aerial battles as they played out.
03 Sep 2019
There's no definitive separation as long as there is memory'. Since the Tsunami hit the northern part of Japan's coast in 2011, more than 20 thousand people lost their lives, and many others are still missing. As time went by the families of the victims abandoned all hope and stopped looking for their loved ones. However, this is the story of two men that are still fully committed to their respective searching activities. Even though their backgrounds are extremely different, both share a strong force of will and firmly wish to keep alive the memories of the ones that went missing. Perseverance is what pushed an ex-convict to look for redemption by helping the victims' families to find the remains of their loved ones, and perseverance is what brought a bus driver to start to dive in order to search for his wife.
13 Feb 2007
What does a baby's cry have in common with the echo of a mountain yodler, and what connects the head tone of a Tuvin nomad with the stage show of a vocal artist? The answer is: THE VOICE. Against a background of powerful alpine vistas and modern city landscapes, "heimatklänge" enters the wondrous sonic world of three exceptional Swiss vocal artists. Their universe of sound extends far beyond what we would describe as singing. In their engagement with local and foreign traditions, the powerful mountain landscape becomes a stage as do the landscapes and sonic backdrops of modern life.
17 Sep 2016
From a young age, Natsuki knew she was a girl despite her sex assigned at birth. Against the backdrop of conservative Japanese society, this poignant docudrama tells her remarkable story of gender transition. Reflecting on her high school years, Natsuki interviews the supportive friends and family who supported her choices – and also confronts the people those who oppressed her freedom. Tracing Natsumi’s story to the present, this compelling portrait of gender identity in contemporary Japan offers insights of a layered experience in a complex society.