SHORT CUTS

FLOW

New York Premiere. With an introduction by Director Shoko Tamai. The word “taboo” comes from the French Polynesian word “tapua.” It means sacred blood. Flow is an experimental short film that honors the taboo inside every woman, the cycle of the moon and the power of creation.

Dir. Shoko Tamai, 2025, 5 min., DCP, color, in English. With Dandara Amorim Veiga, Niara Hardister, Minami Ando, Xiaoxiao Cao, Isaiah Newby, Maxfield Haynes

The Tree of Sinners (『罪⼈の⽊』- Zaininnoki)

North American Premiere. Husband and wife team Rii Ishigara and Hiroyuki Onogawa (composer of August in the Water) craft a surreal Taisho fantasy set in a remote mansion, where a maid is forbidden to enter the room of her master’s sick wife. Visually arresting, the pair’s second medium-length work is a beautifully dark fable.

Dir. Rii Ishihara and Hiroyuki Onogawa, 2024, 25 min., color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Sumire, Masatoshi Kihara, Ann Nishihara, Rii Ishihara.

End of Dinosaurs

U.S. Premiere.  A young community organizer, a free-spirited girl and a drag queen set out to challenge a dinosaur-ridden town’s attempt at redevelopment. A delightfully quirky and poignant film from Japanese American filmmaker Kako Annika Esashi. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the PIA Film Festival.

Dir. Kako Annika Esashi, 2024, 28 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Kako Annika Esashi, Shota Imai, Leica Sasafu.

I Am Not Invisible

U.S. Premiere. Winner of the 2024 PIA Grand Prize, Yuki York’s self-reflexive documentary is a personal essay, shot in an impoverished district of the Philippines, deemed “invisible” by York’s on-screen text. Tracing York’s roots, I Am Not Invisible asks local residents innocuous questions about their lives to better understand them, in turn offering to better understand York’s own Filipina grandmother.

Dir. Yuki York, 2024, 24 min., DCP, color, in Tagalog, English and Japanese with English subtitles.

Part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 2025
July 10—20, 2025

JAPAN CUTS is the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America and an annual highlight of New York’s cinema scene.

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Image: The Tree of Sinners © 2024 Hotel des Arts Inc.

JAPAN CUTS 2025 is powered by GU.

JAPAN CUTS is sponsored by the Globus Family. Reception speakers are donated by BALMUDA. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film Program. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film Program.

Additional support is provided by Sendon and BuyJapon; Kinokuniya Bookstore; Japan Village; and Sunrise Mart.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, George P. Hirose, David Toberisky, Joseph Rajaratnam and Dharshini Iolanthe Sivakumaran, and other Film Supporters.