Black Box Diaries
Journalist Shiori Ito becomes both detective and protagonist as she embarks on an investigation of her own sexual assault at the hands of a high-profile offender. Piecing together the crime she experienced, while pushing herself to the extreme, her quest sparks a historic reckoning in Japan.
Instruments of a Beating Heart
First graders in a Tokyo public elementary school are presented with a challenge: to perform “Ode to Joy” at a school ceremony. Their journey reveals the Japanese educational system’s tenuous balance between self-sacrifice and personal growth as it teaches the next generation to become part of society.