High Performance Imports: Volume 8 (2004)

Imagine… Pet Shop Boys: Then and Now

Featuring exclusive access to their recent tour and their new album, this documentary reveals the fascinating world of Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

The Cove

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

Ama-San

A dive, the midday sunlight filtering down through the water. The air in her lungs has to last until she can dislodge the abalone. Dives like these have been carried out in Japan for over 2000 years by the Ama-San.

LCP, 20 ans en quête d'utilité publique

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Children of the Revolution

Inspired by the student revolutions of 1968, two women in Germany and Japan set out to plot world revolution as leaders of the Baader Meinhof Group and the Japanese Red Army. What were they fighting for and what have we learned?

Fighting Spirit: Fishmans

A documentary film chronicling the rehearsal, preparation and performance of a Fishmans concert performed on February 19, 2019 @Zepp Tokyo.

Tokyo Freeters

In Japan, more than four million young people survive by taking on precarious jobs. They are called “freeters”. The film gives voice to these “discard-after-use” workers, who regard their situation with both lucidity and desperation, as well as to ex-freeters who have become activists in the fight against exclusions.

Eastern Memories

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.

Putin's Witnesses

Russian Federation, December 31, 1999. After President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes acting president of the country. From that day and for a year, Vitaly Mansky's camera documented Putin's rise to power. The story of a privileged witness. The harsh explanation of the reason why politics is the art of possibility of achieving the best with the support of many, but also of giving the worst in return.

L'Âge d'or de la pub

55 years ago, on October 1 1968, the first brand advertising spot appeared on the French television screen. Over the next three decades, thousands of creative little films would seduce and build our collective memory. Kitschy or cult spots, humor, slogans, music, stars, gimmicks, grand spectacle or sex appeal: during its golden age, how did advertising convince? Thierry Ardisson has brought together almost 400 advertising clips to relive the era of the conquest of minds and wallets.

Quand la télé dérape, 40 ans de scandales

Christophe Dechavanne recounts the provocative, scandalous, and irreverent television of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, which he experienced from the inside. From political programs to talk shows, entertainment to news programs, no genre escaped its sometimes provoked, often unexpected missteps, which amused, shocked, and even upset the public. Thanks to the testimonies of Léa Salamé, Michèle Cotta, Marie-Laure Augry, Enora Malagré, Patrice Carmouze, Alain Bougrain-Dubourg, Michel Field, Benjamin Castaldi, Eric Naulleau, and Marc-Olivier Fogiel, this documentary takes us behind the scenes of these cult sequences of French television.

Zen for Nothing

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.

The Human Face of Japan

The world continues to look to Japan as a highly industrialized, future-oriented country that has retained much of its ancient tradition. This series provides an insight into the character of a highly complex nation by examining the lives of nine Japanese from widely diverse backgrounds in the context of social and economic developments.

Samurai Headhunters

A documentary on the dark and brutal side of the Samurai warrior clans featuring the life of peasant Masa who is pressganged into the ruthless world of the Samurai.

The Contestant

The incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving and alone... and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV in Japan, to over 15 million viewers a week.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Steven Okazaki presents a deeply moving look at the painful legacy of the first -- and hopefully last -- uses of nuclear weapons in war. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors - many who have never spoken publicly before - and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, White Light/Black Rain provides a detailed exploration of the bombings and their aftermath.

Eminem: A Shady Story

Marshal Bruce Mathers III, better know by his stage name Eminem and his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. His somewhat humorous songs combined with dark and edgy lyrics give detailed accounts of his troubled upbringing, and feature all the personal struggles he went through on his journey to superstardom. Eminem recently released the much hyped and anticipated album The Marshall Mathers LP 2, a sequel to the recordbreaking and multi platinum album The Marshall Mathers LP. There is quite simply no other Hip Hop artist like Eminem, he has been on top of the game since his debut album The Slim Shady LP, and he shows no signs of letting up. This is the story of how a poor kid from Detroit rose to become a Hip Hop Legend. This is….A Shady Story.

Tsukiji Wonderland

Through the lives of professionals working at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the film portrays how Tsukiji has been the center of fish culinary culture and helped Japanese food culture to flourish as we know it today.

Kim Jong-un: The Unauthorized Biography

A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, in an attempt to profile a contradictory dictator who seems to rule his nation with both disturbing benevolence and cold cruelty while being worshipped as a living god by his subjects in exalted displays of ridiculous fanaticism.

Io sono nata viaggiando

A journey back through Dacia Maraini's and her trips around the world with her close friends cinema director Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas. An in-depth story of this fascinating woman's life. Maraini's memories come alive through personal photographs taken on the road as well as her own Super 8 films shot almost thirty years ago.

Japon, un nouveau monde sauvage

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j-hope Tour 'HOPE ON THE STAGE' in JAPAN: LIVE VIEWING

J-hope's debut world tour "HOPE ON THE STAGE" concludes with a live cinema broadcast. Watch him perform hits from his solo albums and new releases across a spectacular 31-show run through Asia and North America.

Abortion: Stories from North and South

Women have always sought ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies, despite powerful patriarchal structures and systems working against them. This film provides a historical overview of how church, state and the medical establishment have determined policies concerning abortion. From this cross-cultural survey--filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada--emerges one reality: only a small percentage of the world's women has access to safe, legal operations.

1/2 Man

A visual documentary of Einstürzende Neubauten, the German underground band, by Japanese cult director Sogo Ishii, made during their 1985 tour of Japan. The band makes an elaborate and remarkably choreographed appearance in the ruins of an old ironworks which was scheduled for demolition; footage of same was incorporated into the movie and a brief appearance on stage.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they'll be searchable online.

Koi

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.

TURBOS & TEMPLES 2

Join Marty and Moog on an epic road trip across Japan in a car they've just bought off the internet. But before the trip kicks off, the boys have to decipher a cryptic note from the previous owner found on the steering wheel... With stunning cinematography and epic cars, this 90 minute sequel to Turbos & Temples delves into Japanese culture in a way that only Mighty Car Mods can.

Satori Stress

Leaving Europe to look for Akiko, Jean-Noël discovers her city, the exotic Tokyo. A documentary on everyday life in Tokyo, its KABUKI theater, its nostalgic TAKENOKOZOKU dances, its thousands of suit-and-tie executives, its geishas, its Western style marriages, its tranquil green areas, its pulsating nightlife...

L'Adieu à Solférino

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Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel

Featuring tell-all interviews with insiders and former staff, this exposé traces American Apparel's journey from fashion phenomenon to financial flop.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain

Actual footage by the United States Signal Corps of the landing and attack on Arawe Beach, Cape Glouster, New Britain island in 1943 in the South Pacific theatre of World War Two, and the handicaps of the wild jungle in addition to the Japanese snipers and pill-box emplacements.

The Shogun

With cunning and courage the japanese warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu managed to unify Japan after 150 years of civil war.

Campaign

Can a candidate with no political experience and no charisma win an election if he is backed by the political giant Prime Minister Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party? This cinema-verite documentary closely follows a heated election campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, revealing the true nature of "democracy."

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Untangling the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan's deep fascination with insects.

Le Baron et l'Empereur : Japon, la voie de la guerre

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