Search our film database
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The Ainu Bear Ceremony
Directed by Neil G. Munro
The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently...
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The Day the Sun Fell
Directed by Aya Domenig
Swiss-Japanese filmmaker Aya Domenig, the granddaughter of a doctor on duty for the Red Cross during the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, approaches the experience of her deceased grandfather by...
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Dream Girls
Directed by Jano Williams, Kim Longinotto
This award-winning film opens a door into the amazing world of the Takarazuka Revue, the all-female theatre troupe in Japan. Thousands of young women aspire to perform in the Revue’s...
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Eat the Kimono
Directed by Claire Hunt, Kim Longinotto
A compelling biography of Hanayagi Genshu, a feminist and dancer who spent her lifetime defying the conservative traditions of Japanese society with her radical politics and unconventional avant-garde performances. On...
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The Good Wife of Tokyo
Directed by Clare Hunt, Kim Longinotto
Kazuko Hohki goes back to Tokyo with her band, the ‘Frank Chickens’, after living in England for 15 years. This wry and delightful film records her re-experiencing of Japan after...
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Gaea Girls
Directed by Jano Williams, Kim Longinotto
A film about courage, transformation and dreams in the extraordinary world of Japanese women’s wrestling. Gaea Girls focuses on the hopes and fears of the beleaguered Gaea Japan squad, whose...
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The Gaijin
Directed by Chris Christodoulou
‘The Gaijin’ tells the story of an individual negotiating his identity in a foreign country. It follows Luke Jonathan Driscoll, an American who has been residing in Japan for nearly...
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In Pursuit of Happiness
Directed by Ray Ono
Tokyo life as rarely seen on mainstream media. This short film takes you to the lives of men who live on the outskirts of the city and of Japanese society.
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Playing with Nan
Directed by Asami Saito, Dipesh Kharel
Playing with Nan is the story of a Nepali young man who migrated to work in a Nepali restaurant in northern Japan. The film explores his daily life at work...
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Pushy Women
Directed by Caro MacDonald
The modern Japanese woman has the world at her feet: she can pursue any career, wear whatever she likes, and spend her leisure time however she likes – even playing...
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Shinjuku Boys
Directed by Jano Williams, Kim Longinotto
A film about love and gender. This film is set in the New Marilyn night club in Tokyo where all the hosts are women who have decided to live as...
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Uzu
Directed by Gaspard Kuentz
Held every October in the city of Matsuyama, the Dogo Autumn Festival is one of the most violent religious festivals celebrated in Japan. Eight teams of men carrying massive portable...
RAI FILM Festival 2025
The next RAI FILM Festival will take place in person from 27-30 March 2025 at the Watershed Cinema and the Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol (UK) and online throughout the month of April 2025.
