an integral part of their daily lives. In the program, Japanese filmmakers, Hollywood producers and scholars talk about the traditions of horror in Japanese writing from the past, which often featured demons, hell, vengeful spirits and other supernatural entities. (From the US, in English and Japanese, English subtitles) The ubiquitous ‘Japanese Horror’ boom is a film world phenomenon. What is this fascination with J-horror? The origin of J-Horror can be traced to the ghost story classics popularized during the Edo period known as Kwaidan. Indigenous to Japan, “Kwaidan culture” has a history of over 1000 years. Belief in ghosts and demons has been deep-rooted in Japanese folklore throughout history. SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET will demystify the extraordinary thousand year history of the supernatural as experienced by the Japanese and celebrate this “culture of horror” that has always been an unrelenting part of Japanese life. Coproduced by NHK/Plug-In2 This 90 minute English-language documentary was a co-production of NHK Television in Japan and a Canadian production company--I actually appear in this film, as myself, along with film producer Roy Lee (THE RING) and other scholars and J-Horror luminaries. It is a weird film… The thesis put forward by the producers (which I totally agree with) is that the J-Horror boom of the 1990s and early 2000s was a modern iteration of the collections of ghost stories that were compiled by the likes of Lafcadio Hearn--a contemporary folk mythology. So, to explore that idea, they have an actor playing Lafcadio Hearn in a sort of mini-biopic--and then that leads into an Amicus-like horror anthology film that turns some of Hearn's stories into short ghost movies, which are then woven into a more traditional documentary about J-Horror films that has talking heads (like me) and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of some of the films… and faked "behind the scenes" footage of a made-up film used as a generic example.

A mother lives quietly with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do Joon, providing herbs and acupuncture to neighbours. One day, a girl is brutally murdered, and Do Joon is charged with the killing. Now, it's his mother's call whether to prove him innocent or to leave him imprisoned.

In one of her best movie roles, super-star singer and actress Misora Hibari shines in this romantic film about a young geisha named Koharu. This time young Kohana scrambles to realize her dream of bringing back her grandmother's restaurant business.

Inspired by her childhood, French-Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte recounts the emotional journey of a little girl abandoned by her father in an orphanage. 1975. It’s early autumn, somewhere in a small town in South Korea. Jin Hee is 9. She sets off on a journey. She doesn’t know where she is going. But she has to follow. She has to obey. Somewhere near Seoul, her father entrusts her to an orphanage for girls run by Catholic nuns in the hope that she will be adopted. Jin Hee resists. She cannot believe that this father whom she loves so much has abandoned her. She tries to make him come back. She attempts to run away. In vain, she finally accepts her fate, forced to hope and wait for her possible adoption.

King of the shadows is looking for his girl, who has to be his bride. Lin Xi is pretending to be her brother, who has died, because she is trying to solve his death.

Bodhidharma was born in India sometime in the fifth or sixth century as the third son of a king. When his father died, he leaves home and practises Buddhism under the tutelage of the master Prajnatara. Many decades later, he travels to China to spread Zen Buddhism and search for a successor. In China, Bodhidharma meets Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty and tells him he has not accumulated any merit even though the emperor has made many financial contributions to the Buddhist community. The emperor is displeased by Bodhidharma's comment. The locals are also not very friendly towards Bodhidharma, but he surprises them on one occasion when he saves a girl from drowning, and crosses a river by using qinggong and with the aid of a reed. Bodhidharma eventually arrives at Shaolin Monastery and settles down in a cave in the backhill. He faces the wall and enters a state of meditation for nine years. He did not move at all throughout those years and many people came to look at him when they heard about it. Shenguang is a former soldier who has given up violence and become a Buddhist monk to seek peace and redemption. After experiencing strange visions, he makes his way to Shaolin and kneels outside the cave under heavy snowfall. By then, Bodhidharma has awakened from his meditation and he accepts Shenguang as his apprentice after Shenguang cuts off his left arm to show his sincerity. Bodhidharma renames Shenguang to "Huike". Bodhidharma fends off a group of thugs trying to rob the Shaolin monks and miraculously survives after being set on fire. The robbers retreat in shame when they realise they cannot harm this holy man. After witnessing the Shaolin monks' inability to protect themselves, Bodhidharma teaches them martial arts, which later evolved into Shaolin Kung Fu. In his old age, he wishes to return to India so he gathers his students and tests their understanding of his teachings. He eventually chooses Huike to be his successor.

In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds sanctuary with her nihilistic brother, Ryo, and his friends. They pass their days hanging around a shadowy jazz cafe bar, indulging themselves in a life of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Social unrest simmers, while their relationships gradually falter. Misuzu gets drawn into a dangerous plot against the society that was hatched by one of the rebellious youths, Kishi; they will rob a bank car of 300 million yen! The two accomplices set out for numerous rehearsals, while in their hearts they secretly and quietly become even closer. Then one rainy day, aided by coincidence, they pull off their heist successfully, which has a huge impact throughout Japan. However, it brings Misuzu only a great sense of loss and sadness, which she had never anticipated...

The 300 Million Yen Affair is one of the most well-known real-life unsolved crimes in Japan. The incident took place on the rainy morning of December 10, 1968, when a car that carried 300 million Yen was hijacked by a criminal wearing a fake policeman's outfit. Even though more than 100 pieces of evidence were left behind by the criminals, with 170,000 policemen against 110,000 suspects spending almost a billion yen in the investigation, nobody was arrested and the stolen money was never found. The investigation was officially closed for prescription in 1975.