Akiko Ashizawa

Sleep No More (2026)

Two sisters deal with the sudden death of their mother at a wig factory. One believes it was suicide while the other is certain it was a result of possession and takes a job at the factory to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, their brother - born with an eerie ...

Diamonds in the Sand (2025)

Divorced salaryman Yoji has just buried his mother in Tokyo. With few meaningful relationships left, he comes to grips with the realization that he has nothing to live for. A chance encounter with Minerva, a Filipina migrant worker who appears to sense hi ...

Picture of Spring (2023)

Yumiko Haruno works as a waitress at a cafe that has been around for a long time. She spends her days aimlessly and without a dream for her future. On an ordinary day at her job, Yumiko notices middle aged man Ichirou Haga looking intently at shunga (Japan ...

THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY (2023)

Oda Nobunaga and Nōhime were originally married to mend a hostile relationship between neighbouring regions. Unfortunately, they were like oil and water, making for a somewhat unhappy marriage. When Oda's enemy, Imagawa Yoshimoto, attacks Owari with his v ...

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021)

Ajo Kawir is a fighter who fears nothing, not even death. His raging urge to fight is driven by a secret: his impotence. When he crosses paths with a tough female fighter named Iteung, Ajo gets beaten black and blue, but he also falls head over heels in lo ...

Windows (2021)

A young couple has lived together for five years, and they share daily lives even without passion or financial stability. One day, they learn that she's pregnant, and start to consider how to plan their future. ...

One Summer Story (2021)

Two different high school children - a swimmer and an academic - set off on a quest together one summer. ...

The Real Exorcist (2020)

Sayuri, a coffee shop waitress, uses her supernatural powers to help those who are troubled by spiritual phenomena. She gradually gets involved in serious matters, eventually facing a fierce battle with the devil. ...

Beneath the Shadow (2019)

From coworkers to close friends, Konno and Hiasa drift apart. When Hiasa goes missing, Konno must face what he didn't say in time. ...

To the Ends of the Earth (2019)

A young Japanese woman named Yoko finds her cautious and insular nature tested when she travels to Uzbekistan to shoot the latest episode of her travel variety show. ...

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey (2018)

This omnibus film consists of three films made by three directors from three countries. With "Journey" as the theme, each of these films tells about a journey. "The Sea" is a film by Degena Yun (China), telling about mother and child's trip to the sea from ...

The Scythian Lamb (2018)

Six unknown people move to the declining seaport city of Uobuka. Unremarkable city official, Tsukisue, is appointed to welcome them, but finds out the shocking truth that all of them are former murder suspects. Before long, an uneasiness begins to creep ov ...

Before We Vanish (2017)

Narumi is on bad terms with her husband, Shinji, when, one day, Shinji goes missing. He comes back a couple of days later, but he seems like a totally different person, and he is now gentle and tender. He goes for a walk every day. Meanwhile, journalist Sa ...

The Ice Ruts (2016)

Mayu Daimon is a woman who does not remember her mother's face, and her father is the only person she has blood relationship in this world, but he is going to die soon. Mayu has just started a new life as a detective at the Criminal Investigation Division ...

Yamato (California) (2016)

Sakura is a moody teenage girl who lives close to the US military base in the city of Yamato, Japan. She is struggling everyday to become a rapper like the American rappers she admires, but always gets stage fright when she sings in front of an audience. O ...

Creepy (2016)

After having narrowly escaped an attempt on his life at the hands of a psychopath, detective inspector Takakura quits active service in the police force and takes up a position as a university lecturer in criminal psychology. But his desire to get to the b ...

The Mohican Comes Home (2016)

Eikichi left his hometown in Hiroshima for Tokyo. He tried to find success with his music band, but failed. Several years later, Eikichi goes home to tell his father, Osamu, that his girlfriend is pregnant. His father curses him out, but he is also excited ...

The Shell Collector (2016)

The latest discovery by a blind shell collector puts the relationship between man and nature on edge: a rare mollusc that is extremely poisonous, but has a healing and hallucinogenic effect on some people. Can people resist the creature's temptation, or wi ...

Sayonara (2015)

The world's first human-android acting duo, called Android Theater Project, is the collaborative brainchild of noted Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata and the leading robotics scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. "Sayonara" is a remakable android play and has been a ...

Journey to the Shore (2015)

Mizuki's husband Yusuke has been missing for three years. He suddenly comes back home as a ghost and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous travel. ...

Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday (2014)

Seven women aged between 40 and 80 join the Leaf-Watching & Grand Mythical Waterfall & Hot Spring tour. The women chat, pick berries, take photos and generally enjoy themselves as they follow their unreliable guide to the waterfall. Then the guide disappea ...

Wood Job! (2014)

After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he is sent to Kamusari Village for a year ...

Hana-Dama (2014)

Transfer student Mizuki is bullied mercilessly by her classmate. Nevertheless, she is always able to maintain her composure. Kirie, who is also bullied, becomes interested in Mizuki and longs for her. The two become close. ...

Passion (2013)

A singular deadpan comedy, The Passion tells a story of a young woman raised in a convent named Frances-ko (Mayuko Iwasa), after Saint Francesco. Distressed by not knowing about love and sex, she calls out for a sign from above, but instead hears a voice f ...

Tamako in Moratorium (2013)

Tamako graduated from a university in Tokyo, but she now lives with her father back in Kofu. Tamako doesn't help her father or tries to get a job. She spends her time just eating and sleeping throughout the four seasons of the year. ...

Passage of Dreams (2013)

Based on the manga series "Yume no Kayoiji" by Yasuyuki Ohno (first published January, 1987 by biweekly seinen manga magazine Young King). ...

Screaming Class (2013)

Kana is an ordinary high school student. One day, her photo is selected for a magazine and, because of this, Kana receives attention from popular student attention Rio. The attention though is not the kind Kana wanted. Kana is bullied by Rio and her friend ...

Real (2013)

Neurosurgeon Koichi uses an experimental technique to enter the brain of his beloved Atsumi, who is in a coma after attempting suicide. In his quest, Koichi drifts steadily further into the sweltering marshes of the spirit. It is soon no longer clear what ...

Penance (2013)

The murder of a young girl leaves the inhabitants of a small Japanese village in shock. The body of Emili is found by four classmates with whom she was playing. The murder is never solved. Emili's mother, Asako, is torn by grief and puts a curse on the fou ...

Paikaji Nankai Sakusen (2012)

Sasaki has had a difficult period, going through a divorce and losing his job. To take a break and start anew, Sasaki decides to visit Iriomote Island. While there, Sasaki's belongings are stolen by four homeless men. Sasaki then lives with three other peo ...

Chronicle of My Mother (2012)

Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior ...

In a Lonely Planet (2011)

Mari lives a comfortable life as a single woman. She has a nice job at a company and resides in an apartment in the suburbs of Tokyo. A couple lives next to door to her. Mari can hear them argue or making happy conversations everyday. One night, when Mari ...

Tokyo Island (2010)

Men and one woman have drifted to an uninhabited island. The only woman will try to survive by taking advantage of her own sexual attractiveness. ...

The Chef of South Polar (2009)

When eight men are assigned to live 14,000 kilometers from home in inhumanly cold conditions, food becomes their new existence. ...

Dear My Love (2009)

Too shy to speak out the word of appreciation, too busy to show that you care... Many excuses lie between each and every couple, when they look back the distance created during the long years in which they took each other for granted... Love Letters sent f ...

Flavor of Happiness (2008)

Yamashita Takako works in the food section of a department store. She pays frequent visits to a reputable local Chinese restaurant about opening an in-store branch. The owner of the restaurant, Wang Qingkuo from Shanghai, who does all the cooking by himsel ...

Tokyo Sonata (2008)

The winds of change blow as a family grapples with unemployment, alienation, mistrust and a lack of communication. When a Japanese salaryman loses his job to outsourcing to China, it's simply the beginning of a series of shattering incidents, leading to th ...

Your Friend (2008)

While researching a story on a school for problem children, Nakahara meets Emi, a college volunteer with a compelling tale of her own. After overcoming her initial reluctance to open up to the writer, Emi talks about her busted leg and her childhood friend ...

Restaurant UFO (2008)

A high schooler who dreams of leaving her rural town for Tokyo puts out an ad for her job at her family's restaurant. Satoshi Yamaguchi directs. ...

Life Can Be So Wonderful (2007)

Five short stories of life's joys and sorrows are brought together in this omnibus drama from Japan. ...

In 10,000 years (2007)

The story centers around the communication between a man who abruptly appears in a world 10,000 years in the future and a boy who lives in that world. ...

Retribution (2007)

A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since the crimes are in the same vicinity, by the same method. However, as evidence points towards the detective, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins questi ...

Sukitomo (2007)

Drama following a young boxer Tomokazu and his relationship with his best friend Yoshiko and sister Misao as while he's training for an important match. His sister and friend have always been there for him, supporting him, but Tomokazu is about to find out ...

Si-Sei 2 -The Fallen Spider- (2007)

A tattoo changes a woman. A tattoo changes a man. Tattoo is everything ... Asami, a woman who breaks into an affair with a man who has a wife the name is Ninomiya, a man who leaves the house apart from his wife and is inviting a self-development seminar to ...

Loft (2006)

A writer retreats to a secluded suburban house to work on her new novel. But her attention is instead occupied by her archaeologist neighbor's newly discovered mummy and a ghostly presence in her house. ...

Rampo Noir (2005)

An anthology film consisting of four segments based on literary works by Edogawa Ranpo. ...

Hazan (2004)

Biopic of ceramic artist Hazan Itaya (1872-1963). ...

Be in Happiness (2003)

Against the backdrop of Hime Island in the Genkai Sea, the film calmly depicts the daily life of the island woven by a pure-hearted young man aspiring to become an actor, a mediocre actor who comes from the city to instruct him in acting, and the unique i ...

Oshiego to Kyôshi: Itazura Hime Hajime (2003)

Passion's Potion (2002)

A love story involving a small theater director, his actors, and a former idol talent. ...

Unloved (2001)

Mitsuko, a thirty-something Japanese secretary, lives a very simple life devoid of ambition. She has an affair with Eiji, a rich, arrogant and newly divorced businessman who is intrigued by her retiring personnality but she quickly breaks up as he repeated ...

Misuzu (2001)

Tells the life story of Teru Kaneko, who was born and raised in a small coastal town. While working as a clerk in a book shop, Teru starts writing her own verses to get away from the worries of a disgraceful marriage. Under the pseudonym Misuzu, her works ...

Sabaku (2000)

This gender-swapped take on the horrific murder case of Junko Furuta shows how Jun Furuta's father tracks down the juveniles who murdered his son to find out why his son had to die and to exact his revenge. ...

Will Be There for You (2000)

Based on the manga of the same name by Ikuko Kujirai. ...

Mars Sweet Home (2000)

Ringo no usagi (1997)

About an energetic kindergarden student and the people around him ...

Time Leap (1997)

Time travel film ...

Night of Body's Model (1996)

Takahashi moves into a new apartment after a divorce and as she tries to settle in, finds that she is having strange and violent dreams and weird things keep happening in her apartment. Her neighbour likes to listen to her through the wall, and becomes inc ...

In a Thicket (1996)

Sato's re-imagining of In a Grove, on which Rashomon was based. In this version, instead of a web of lies and agendas, we get a web of desires, perversions like incest, and occult phenomenon like an oracle-demon, hallucinations, and human sacrifice. Once a ...

Splatter: Naked Blood (1996)

A scientist taints his mother's scientific experiment with his own drug that transforms pain into a pleasurable experience. Unfortunately for the three women involved in the experiment, the drug works a little bit too well. ...

I Want it, I Want it, I’m Dying (1995)

There are rumors that "a mysterious woman who is very good at SEX will appear" in a small hot spring town. ...

The Girl of Silence (1995)

14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it. ...

Yoi Ko to Asobou (1994)

Five junior high school students in the city enjoy stealing as a game to pass the time. One day, a mysterious masked man suddenly appears in front of them and attacks them. ...

Shooting Women (2008)

Reveals the history of camerawomen around the world, celebrating not only the survival of pioneer women in a male-dominated field, but a new generation of camerawomen's visions. ...

Women Behind the Camera (2007)

Reveals the courageous lives of pioneer camerawomen from Hollywood to Bollywood, from war zones to children's laughter, in a way that has never been seen before. Based on a book by Alexis Krasilovsky, the film tells the stories of camerawomen surviving the ...