Tokyo Idols

DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

EAST COAST PREMIERE

Video introduction with director Kyoko Miyake

This revealing, thought-provoking new documentary by Kyoko Miyake traces the budding career of RioRio (the stage name of 19-year-old Rio Hiiragi), an aspiring pop singer climbing the ranks of stardom as an idol in Tokyo. One among 10,000 teenage girls considered idols, RioRio is part of a billion dollar industry and a unique, male-dominated otaku culture of obsession that has grown exponentially since the 1990s and gradually infiltrated mainstream Japanese popular culture. With a journalistic approach, Miyake uses RioRio’s journey (as well as that of her number one fan Koji, a 43-year-old former salaryman) as an opportunity to explore the multifaceted and often complicated issues of gender dynamics, female sexuality, fame and consumerism in the internet age inherent to idol worship in Japan.

Tickets
$14/$11 seniors & students / $10 Japan Society members

Special Offers
Five-Film Pass: Purchase tickets for at least 5 different films in the same transaction and receive $2 off each ticket (Offer not valid for July 13 screening of MUMON: The Land of Stealth or July 20 screening of Over the Fence).

Box Office Policy

Tokyo Idols © Van Royko.