JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be
awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro's sushi bar.

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro's life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world and a loving yet complicated father.

Imagine a world where video games reign supreme. Five story buildings filled with arcade cabinets, old and new, inundate the streets of downtown Tokyo. Welcome to Japan. A FilmBuff Presentation.

On the south side of Kyoto. Tucked away from it's ancient temples and tourist sites, lies a 40 building low income housing project. Mukaijima New Town, as it's known around the city, is home to poor immigrants, gangsters, drug addicts and lost children. Most residents of Kyoto simply ignore it, many don't even know it exists, but now, one young man is fighting to change that. Danchi No Yume - Dreams of the Projects, tells the story of Anarchy, a young man born into a hidden underworld of yakuza gangsters, immigrants and low income families struggling to survive in a strict Japanese society. To overcome his despair at being raised in a single parent household, Anarchy turned to the streets of Mukaijima and found others like him. They created a new family for themselves, a family of friends. Each have their own circumstances but they all share the common bond of being outsiders in a rigid society that ignores its underbelly with a cold indifference. Anarchy and his friends, with no money or resources, turned to Hip Hop to band themselves together and to express their pride and despair. Anarchy became the example for forgetting your woes and immersing oneself in the explosive culture of hip hop, where all you need to participate is a voice and a dream. The rags-to-riches success stories of other Hip Hop artists like Jay-Z, 50 cent and Eminem, serve as the inspiration and template for their own salvation. They will stop at nothing to achieve similar success and bring respect and honor to their home, Mukaijima. After many years of perseverance, the cultural trends in Japanese media are shifting. Once unthinkable, a lower class kid from the projects is making noise on a national level through Hip Hop. We follow Anarchy as he embarks on his quest to record his first album, Dream and Drama, and then brings it to the people of Japan through relentless touring and live concerts.

Cult director Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era. 13 Assassins - a "masterful exercise in cinematic butchery" (New York Post) - is centered around a group of elite samurai who are secretly enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord to prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war torn future.

The final portrait in a series on the lives of dictators by Alexander Sokurov, THE SUN is a re-imagining of Emperor Hirohito's final days in power during the waning days of WWII. Hirohito wanders through his palace in a child-like state of denial. But reality soon intrudes as American soldiers overrun his manicured gardens and visions of Hiroshima invade his dreams. No longer a God among men, Hirohito is forced accept the terms of the occupation and, even more dramatically, the renunciation of his divinity. ."..Staggering and brilliant." - Keith Uhlich, TIME OUT NY.

"Love Hotel" gives a provocative peek inside Osaka’s “Angel Love Hotel,” exposing the unseen side of Osaka’s harshly conservative society where the sexual fantasies of some find a home in underground clubs.

A manipulative police crackdown on organized crime has ignited a tricky power struggle in the yakuza underworld. As the police force prepares a full-scale crackdown, anti-gang detective Kataoka wants to start a war between crime families for their mutual destruction. His war incendiary device is the rumored dead boss Otomo (Kitano), who seeks to retire from a life of crime yet can't help but get drawn back into the battle.

A casual scam triggers a surreal series of events, which turns everyone into "ME" who eventually turns on each other. This quirky metaphysical tale of "self-multiplication" hits all the trademarks of cult director, Satoshi Miki ("Adrift in Tokyo", "Instant Swamp"), who has made a name with his original worldview that encapsulates all of his films. Kazuya Kamenashi of popular boy-band, KAT-TUN, stars as Hitoshi, who is at first disoriented in the world that is inhabited by so many Hitoshis, yet unexpectedly finds the uncomplicated relationships among "himselves" quite comfortable.

Screened at Sundance, this serene coming-of-age story follows a cynical Japanese high-school girl as she learns the joy of lending an helping hand in the quieter parts of life.

Based on a true story, QUILL: THE LIFE OF A GUIDE DOG is a sweet, documentary-like story of a yellow Labrador Retriever guide dog for the blind named Quill. We follow Quill from the litter, his selection to become a guide, and his life with multiple families. He is then paired with a blind man named Watanabe Mitsuru who is at first reluctant to rely on Quill but is gradually won over by the dog's gentle patience.

Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in the southern region of Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke lives with their father in the northern region of Japan. The brothers have been separated by their parents' divorce, and Koichi's only wish is for his family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle.

Visually stunning, bursting with over-the-top action and campy sexual tension, Princess Sakura follows the mad journey of a rebellious princess who ventures into prostitution in order find the mysterious tattooed intruder she met on a fateful night.

Based on the semi-biographical novel by Jun Miura, "Oh, My Buddha" is the classic summer coming-of-age story that is burned to a crisp with teenage angst, youthful dreams and kick-ass psych folk. The narrator is a first-year student at an all-boys Buddhist school. Jaded by his dull, ordinary life, he longs for the type of creative, liberal and forward life his idol Bob Dylan leads, writing rock songs alone in his room, imitating his hero's signature croon, until one day he got invited on an island trip of "sexual liberation" with his good buddies.

Joe Odagiri (Air Doll, I Wish, My Way) stars as Fumiya Takemura, an aimless 20-something devoid of friends, ambitions or money; he has been a student for 8 years and has acquired great debt with loan sharks. Meanwhile, Fukuhara, a debt collector with the baddest mullet you've ever seen, offers Fumiya a strange proposition: he will cancel the debt as long as Fumiya agrees to walk with him across Tokyo to the police station, where he intends to turn himself for a crime he deeply regrets. Not having much of a choice, Fumiya accepts the deal. As they walk, talk and fumble through the streets of Tokyo, their arrangement starts to transform into an unlikely friendship. Based on the original novel by the 125th Naoki Prize winner Yoshinaga FujitaIn, this is an offbeat comic gem, filled with bizarre encounters, strange characters and thoughtful conversation.

At an all female high school, a senior of the broadcast club becomes fascinated with the club's newest member. As graduation approaches and the summer heat rises, so does the sexual tension between the girls. Inspired by the photo book of photographer Yuki Aoyama.

Exquisitely detailed family drama shines with warmth and understanding. Lushly photographed story incorporates elements of director Hirokazu Kore-Eda's personal experience. On the 15th anniversary of the death of the Yokoyama family's youngest son, the remaining siblings visit the quaint home of their parents with their own families in tow. New relatives become acquainted tell stories and squabble over sizzling tempura. An elegant graveside ritual is performed. "***** (highest rating). A new classic... moviemaking of a rare emotional subtlety" -Rothkopf, Time Out NY