Series
Nippon Connection
The film series "Nippon Connection" runs from 6 June to 28 June at Nippon Connection, DFF — Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and Mal seh'n Kino with 50 screenings.
A Moon in the Ordinary
R: Nobuhiro DOI · Japan 2025, 119 min., OmeU
Kensho Aoto reunites with Yoko Sudo, whom he had feelings for in junior high school, for the first time in 35 years. On the second floor window sill of a small apartment. Yoko was leaning against the window and looking up at the moon in the night sky, then Kensho was watching her from outside. Kensho “What were you thinking back then?” Yoko “...Something like a dream. Just about something like a dream.” The two of them are naturally attracted to each other for the first time at the age of 50. They eventually start talking about the future...
- Drama
- Romance
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithNobuhiro DOI
Guardians of the Harvest
R: Riko HIRO · Japan 2025, 98 min., OmeU
The Suwa Basin is a huge depression created when the earth was torn apart long ago. A deer sacrifice festival has been held here since ancient times, a ritual handed down from Suwa Taisha, the main shrine of the 10,000 Suwa shrines across the country. What do deer mean to the people of this region?
- Documentary
Nippon Connectionnaxos.KinoOmeU
WithRiko HIRO
TMDB 80RT 95 Kokuho
R: Sang-il LEE · Japan 2025, 174 min., OmeU
Nagasaki, 1964: Following the death of his yakuza father, 15-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men grow and evolve together – and one will become the greatest Japanese master of the art of kabuki.
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithSang-il LEE
Nippon Animation Shorts Competition: Shades of Reality
R: Dinora PEREIRA · Deutschland 2025, 5 min.,
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse Kino
WithDinora PEREIRA
Blue Boy Trial
R: Kasho IIZUKA · Japan 2025, 106 min., OmeU
1960s Japan—economic boom, Olympic pride, and a crackdown on “public morals.” An anti-prostitution law targets women but spares male sex workers, the so-called “blue boys.” When police arrest the doctor performing their sex reassignment surgeries, the sensational “Blue Boy Trial” begins. Three transgender women take the stand, igniting a national debate on identity, medicine, and happiness—long before the language of LGBT existed. Though the court ruled surgery legal, the verdict cast a shadow: no such operations would occur in Japan for 29 years. Half a century later, this buried history still reverberates in the lives of sexual minorities.
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionCinéma Arthouse Kino LumièreOmeU
WithKasho IIZUKA
TMDB 80RT 95 Kokuho
Nagasaki, 1964: Following the death of his yakuza father, 15-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men grow and evolve together – and one will become the greatest Japanese master of the art of kabuki.
- Drama
ZEN & EROS
OmeU
Documentary about the painter Morio Matsui
- Documentary
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
ChaO
R: Yasuhiro AOKI · Japan 2025, 90 min., OmeU
In a futuristic world where humans and mermaids coexist, the life of mild-mannered office worker Stephan is upended when he is suddenly proposed to by Chao — a princess from the mermaid kingdom. With no time to make sense of what's happening, Stephan soon finds himself living with the unpredictable, wholehearted Chao, and her sincere love begins to break down his emotional barriers.
- Animation
- Fantasy
- Romance
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithYasuhiro AOKI
Cocoon: From the Girls of Summer
R: Yukimitsu INA · Japan 2025, 63 min., OmeU
San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.
- Animation
- Drama
- War
- TV Movie
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithYukimitsu INA
Cosmo Corpus
R: Yokna HASEGAWA · Japan 2025, 134 min., OmeU
In the distant future, humanity has split into two groups: one that has left Earth to explore the cosmos, and another that remains behind, surviving on the planet.
- Science Fiction
Nippon Connectionnaxos.KinoOmeU
WithYokna HASEGAWA
Chimney Town: Frozen in Time
R: Yusuke HIROTA · Japan 2026, 98 min., OmeU
After losing his friend Poupelle, young Lubicchi wanders into a mysterious realm where a clock in a tower is frozen at 11:59. To return home, he must restart it – and find the courage to believe again.
- Animation
- Drama
- Fantasy
- Adventure
Nippon ConnectionCinéma Arthouse Kino LumièreOmeU
WithYusuke HIROTA
The Age of Assassins
R: Kihachi OKAMOTO · Japan 1967, 99 min., OmeU
A nerdy young college instructor named Shinji Kikyo returns home one day to find himself the target of a mad assassin. Surviving somewhat miraculously, he fends off other assassins and with the help of reporter Keiko Tsurumaki and car mechanic Bill Otomo, eventually discovering that a "population control" association is really an assassination squad led by Shogo Mizorogi, who has been training patients of a mental asylum to become killers.
- Comedy
- Action
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithKihachi OKAMOTO
Sumikkogurashi: The Crispies Adventure in Fluffy Land
R: Naomi IWATA · Japan 2025, 68 min., OmeU + dt. Live-Einsprache
Nippon ConnectionMal Seh'n KinoOmeU
WithNaomi IWATA
TMDB 71IMDb 6.5 The Tank
R: Anshul CHAUHAN · Japan 2025, 126 min., OmeU
A German Tiger tank crew is sent on a dangerous mission to rescue the missing officer Paul von Hardenburg from a top-secret bunker behind enemy lines. As they make their way through the lethal no-man's land, they must confront not only the enemy, but also their own fears and inner demons. Fueled by the Wehrmacht's methamphetamine, their mission increasingly becomes a journey into the heart of darkness.
- War
- Action
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithAnshul CHAUHAN
SATSUJINKYO JIDAI
Regie: Kihachi Okamoto | 99 Min. Killer’s Age Japan 1967. R: Kihachi Okamoto. D: Tatsuya Nakadai, Reiko Dan, Hideo Sunazuka. 99 Min. 35mm. OmeU Original version with English subtitles Einführung: Hayley Scanlon Filmreihe: 26. Nippon Connection Filmfestival Der unbeholfene Lehrer Shinji findet sich im Fadenkreuz einer Horde von Killern wieder, die von einem verrückten Altnazi auf ihn angesetzt wurden. Ihm zur Seite stehen eine Journalistin und ein Automechaniker, die sich allerdings bald fragen, ob doch mehr hinter Shinjis unscheinbarer Fassade steckt. In Kihachi Okamotos explosiver, satirischer Persiflage auf Agentenfilme stellt Superstar Tatsuya Nakadai sein komödiantisches Talent unter Beweis – und singt sogar kurz auf Deutsch!
DFF FilmmuseumOmeU35mm
Yuho No Border
R: Yumiko ASANO · Japan 2026, 82 min., OmeU
Yuho Asaka was born in the 1950s with osteogenesis imperfecta – brittle bone disease. Growing up in less inclusive times, her childhood was far from easy. Yet she overcame prejudice and became a pioneer for disability rights.
- Documentary
Nippon Connectionnaxos.KinoOmeU
WithYumiko ASANO
Kaneko Fumiko
OmeU
The 1923 Kanto earthquake sparks fears of a Korean uprising in Japan. Many anti-colonial and leftist activists are arrested, including Fumiko and her partner Yeol. Accused of a plot to assassinate the Crown Prince, they are sentenced to death, later reduced to life in prison.
- History
- Drama
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
TMDB 70IMDb 7.4 Kill!
R: Kihachi OKAMOTO · Japan 1968, 114 min., OmeU
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
- Action
- Comedy
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithKihachi OKAMOTO
A New Dawn
R: Yoshitoshi SHINOMIYA · Japan, Frankreich 2025, 76 min., OmeU
Due to a great coincidence of fate, I, a child then, did not go to a meeting with War. Other women did complete that meeting and joined the guerrilla. After many years this story comes back to me and, inevitably, I decided to go after it. How is it to be a guerrilla woman and lay down the weapons after the Peace Treaty?
- Documentary
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithYoshitoshi SHINOMIYA
Fujiko
R: Taichi KIMURA · Japan 2026, 95 min., OmeU
Subjected to harsh treatment by her husband Jiro’s family, Fujiko is devastated when Mari is kidnapped by Jiro’s relatives. With the help of her own mother, Chiyo, Fujiko regains her child. Against the advice and judgment of those around her, she chooses to raise Mari as a single mother.
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithTaichi KIMURA
TMDB 70IMDb 7.4 Kill!
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
- Action
- Comedy
A Unique Country in Asia
R: Kenji YAMAUCHI · Japan 2025, 77 min., OmeU
Nippon Connectionnaxos.KinoOmeU
WithKenji YAMAUCHI
TMDB 84RT 100IMDb 8.6 Harakiri
R: Masaki KOBAYASHI · Japan 1962, 135 min., OmeU
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
- Action
- Drama
- History
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithMasaki KOBAYASHI
Numakage Public Pool
OmeU
For over five decades, a beloved Tokyo suburban pool affectionately called “the ocean” offered health, joy, and belonging to elderly swimmers, families, and the local gay community. But when urban development forces its demolition, a wave of grief sweeps through those who called it home. Through powerful, intimate moments, this deeply human story explores loss not tied to death, but to place, memory, and identity. Guided by the five stages of grief, director Ota invites us to reflect on what it means to say goodbye not just to a building, but to a vital space of connection, healing, and shared life.
- Documentary
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
Sai: Disaster
R: Yutaro SEKI, Kentaro HIRASE · Japan 2025, 128 min., OmeU
Four people lead ordinary lives in different places, their paths never crossing. A mysterious man appears in each story, always as someone else. One moment, a cram school instructor; the next, a truck driver, a barber - his identity constantly shifting. Then, death strikes. A detective pursues the truth, closing in on a revelation...
- Drama
- Crime
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithYutaro SEKI, Kentaro HIRASE
TMDB 78RT 89IMDb 8.0 John Candy: I Like Me
R: Yuriyan Retriever · Japan 2025, 113 min., OmeU
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
- Documentary
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithYuriyan Retriever
The Long Night
R: Yui KUSAKARI · Japan 2025, 115 min., OmeU
When her brother disappears, Anna enlists a violent man from her past to extract the truth and drags her partner into a night of brutality that may cost them more than just their conscience.
- Crime
- Thriller
Nippon Connectionnaxos.KinoOmeU
WithYui KUSAKARI
Sold outTMDB 84RT 100IMDb 8.6 Harakiri
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
- Action
- Drama
- History
Dear Tomorrow
OmeU
Dear Tomorrow is a multi-character story about loneliness. Set in Japan, the film centers around the mental health hotline called “A Place for You”, where a group of young volunteers are chatting with thousands in need, every single day.
- Documentary
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
Kiiroiko
R: Mika IMAI · Japan, Taiwan 2025, 72 min., Mandarin, Japanische und Taiwanesische Gebärdensprache mit englischen und japanischen Untertiteln
In Taipei, a Deaf man named Chen encounters a lost Japanese Deaf child. As Chen bonds with the child, he begins to grapple with his long-buried memories.
- Drama
Nippon Connectionnaxos.Kino
WithMika IMAI
The Obsessed
R: Wataru TAKAHASHI · Japan 2025, 98 min., OmeU
Giuseppe is carried by passing passions—singing, insects, private investigation, embroidery—until one day in the park, he meets a quiet balloon seller. Something about her makes him pause.
- Animation
- Comedy
- Romance
- Music
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithWataru TAKAHASHI
Little Love Song
R: Kojiro HASHIMOTO · Japan 2019, 123 min., OmeU
A popular high school band is scouted by a Tokyo-based record company. The band is involved in a car accident, however, shattering many hopes. The band receives a demo tape from a girl who lives on the navy base. They are reinvigorated.
- Romance
- Drama
- Music
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithKojiro HASHIMOTO
Fest Godzilla Shorts 2025
R: Sho SEGAWA · Japan 2025, 39 min.,
Japanese Blu-ray from TOHO Visual Entertainment TOHO Visual Entertainment will finally be releasing the five Fes Godzilla shorts to Blu-ray in one collection. Several of them were previously only available on disc as a reward for those who gave to the crowdfunding campaigns. In addition to the shorts, the release will also contain making-of footage, and interviews with director Kazuhiro Nakagawa and Godzilla suit actor Naoya Matsumoto. The disc will not be subtitled in English, nor is there currently any word of a release outside Japan. Included shorts: -"Godzilla: Godzilla Fes" -"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" -“Fes Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks" -"Fes Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar" -"Fes Godzilla 5: Great Monster Battle" Retail price: ¥6,050 (Japan tax included), ¥5500 (without) TBR35031D JAN/ISBN: 4988104141316 1 Disc 1 layer (BD25G) 16:9 widescreen 1080p High Definition Audio: Japanese 2.0ch Linear PCM Subtitles: None
Nippon Connectionnaxos.Kino
WithSho SEGAWA
TMDB 77IMDb 6.2 Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation
R: Takashi KOYAMA · Japan 2025, 119 min., OmeU
When thrill-seeker Cricket tricks his family into taking a "road trip" in space, chaos in the cosmos quickly ensues. Despite growing frustrations between Cricket and his dad, Bill, the two must learn to appreciate each other's unique perspectives in order to prevent Big City from being destroyed by an interstellar disaster.
- Animation
- Family
- Comedy
- TV Movie
- Science Fiction
- Adventure
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithTakashi KOYAMA
Cocoon: From the Girls of Summer
San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.
- Animation
- Drama
- War
- TV Movie
DFF FilmmuseumOmeUDCP
New Group
R: Yuta SHIMOTSU · Japan 2025, 82 min., OmeU
Ai is a high school girl who feels suffocated by social pressure, but finds it hard to fight going with the flow. One day, the people in her school inexplicably start to form a human pyramid. The principal and other teachers start to act weird and encourage taking part in it, and the various gymnastic formations start to spread and take over the whole town. Eventually only Ai and Yuu, a transfer student who finds it hard to fit in, are left to rebel against the conformity madness.
- Horror
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithYuta SHIMOTSU
Night Flower
R: Eiji UCHIDA · Japan 2025, 124 min., OmeU
Driven to the brink, Natsuki makes a desperate gamble: selling drugs to make her children's dreams come true. Living a double life—mother by day, dealer by dark—where will this dangerous path lead her—?
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionCinéma Arthouse Kino LumièreOmeU
WithEiji UCHIDA
IMDb 6.9 Two Seasons, Two Strangers
R: Sho MIYAKE · Japan 2025, 89 min., japan. und korean. OmeU
In summer, Nagisa and Natsuo meet by the sea. Their vacant gazes reflect each other as they exchange awkward words and wade into the rain-drenched ocean. In winter, Li, a screenwriter, travels to a snow-covered village. There, she finds a guesthouse run by Benzo.
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithSho MIYAKE
Rise, Fair Sun
R: Kei KUMAI · Japan 1973, 130 min., OmeU
Though a farmer and his fellow villagers in this Japanese film resist the effort to turn the unspoiled region in which they live into a land development, they are ultimately unsuccessful.
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithKei KUMAI
Suzuki=Bakudan
R: Akira NAGAI · Japan 2025, 137 min., OmeU
An unemployed man named Suzuki is taken in by police after breaking a booze vending machine. When he predicts the explosions of two bombs and claims there are more, the police start to investigate him as a terrorist. However, Suzuki first claims to know about the bombs through psychic clairvoyance, and then claims he was hypnotized to forget. He gives hints about the bombs with riddles while riling up his interrogators, especially senior detective Kiyomiya and his junior Ruike. Things seem to be connected to a disgraced cop named Hasebe, who committed suicide after a scandal some years ago. But is Suzuki actually the perpetrator behind the bombs or not?
- Thriller
- Mystery
- Crime
Nippon ConnectionEldorado Arthouse KinoOmeU
WithAkira NAGAI
Out of Place
Blue Amber von Miki Tanaka, Japan, 2025, 34 Min., OmeU, IP Thundergod von Umi Ishihara, Japan, 2025, 18 Min., OmeU, DP Amarela von André Hayato Saito, Brasilien, 2024, 15 Min., OmeU CUT von Natsuki Urayama, Japan, 2024, 6 Min., OmeU HUMAN FARM von Gentoku Yamada, Japan, 2024, 8 Min., OmeU SHIODOKI von Toshihiko Tanaka, Japan, 2025, 16 Min., OmeU, WP mehr
- Drama
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
Thanasis Samaras: HOW DARE YOU?
R: Mipo O · Japan 2025, 97 min., OmeU
A solo performance entitled "HOW DARE YOU?" as filmed in December 2024 at the Psyrri Theatre.
- Comedy
Nippon ConnectionCinéma Arthouse Kino LumièreOmeU
WithMipo O
Rise, Fair Sun
Though a farmer and his fellow villagers in this Japanese film resist the effort to turn the unspoiled region in which they live into a land development, they are ultimately unsuccessful.
- Drama
DFF FilmmuseumOmeU16mm
Tokyo Taxi
R: Yoji YAMADA · Japan 2025, 103 min., OmeU
One day, taxi driver Koji Usami is tasked with driving 85-year-old Sumire Takano from Shibamata, Tokyo to a senior care facility in Hayama, Kanagawa. Sumire asks Koji to make some detours. Gradually opening up to her, Sumire begins to tell the story of her grand past...
- Drama
Nippon ConnectionMousonturm SaalOmeU
WithYoji YAMADA
TMDB 80RT 96IMDb 8.2 Ran
R: Akira KUROSAWA · Japan, Frankreich 1985, 162 min., OmeU
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
- Action
- Drama
- History
Nippon ConnectionKino des DFFOmeU
WithAkira KUROSAWA
Fiamma
OmeU
An assistant director investigates the authenticity of a popular autobiographical novel being adapted into a movie.
- Drama
- Mystery
Mal seh'n KinoOmeU
Nippon Shorts: Lonely Ghosts
R: Shinsuke FUJIOKA · Japan 2024, 12 min.,
Nippon Connectionnaxos.Kino
WithShinsuke FUJIOKA
Sold outTMDB 80RT 96IMDb 8.2 Ran
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
- Action
- Drama
- History
TMDB 84RT 100IMDb 8.6 Harakiri
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
- Action
- Drama
- History
TMDB 80RT 96IMDb 8.2 Ran
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
- Action
- Drama
- History