An audacious documentary weaving together secret recordings and first-person perspective, Black Box Diaries follows Japanese journalist/filmmaker, Shirio Itō, after her allegations of sexual assault are dismissed by Japanese authorities. Refusing to stay silent, Itō writes a tell-all memoir and turns the camera on herself as she investigates her own case.
Black Box Diaries
Director
Runtime
102 Minutes
Country
Japan, United States, United Kingdom
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Sexually assaulted by an influential figure, a young journalist investigates her own case, setting into motion a movement for change.
One of this year’s most remarkable human rights documentaries, Black Box Diaries follows the courageous story of Japanese journalist and filmmaker Shiori Itō, whose allegations of rape by a high-profile figure linked to then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were dismissed by Japanese authorities in 2015.
After going public with her experiences in 2017, later filing charges against her attacker in civil court, Itō finds herself at the centre of Japanese politics. Her rape allegations are met with open cultural and media hostility. Determined to reach other women, she begins writing her tell-all memoir Black Box, and turns the camera on herself, the police, her lawyers and allies, documenting her own vulnerability and ongoing trauma.
An audacious documentary that weaves secret recordings together with first-person perspective, Black Box Diaries is a powerful testament to one woman’s refusal to stay silent, her pursuit of justice and the landmark events that helped change Japan’s sexual assault laws.
“Not just a compelling and sympathetic human subject but a genuinely artful and intuitive filmmaker, Itō crafts Black Box Diaries with a keen sense of temporal drift and distortion — we feel the days hazily lost to her lowest ebbs, as well as her surges in energy and motivation … filming her own truth.”
Variety
“Black Box Diaries is one of the discoveries of this year’s Sundance …. Even if it takes place on the other side of the world, it’s still a story we all know when we see it.”
Screen Daily
“Shiori Itō changed the world. And Black Box Diaries is a monument to her determination and sacrifice, as well as one of the best documentaries you’ll see all year.”
Rolling Stone
Film Credits
Director
Shiori Itō
Year
2024
Country
Japan, United States & United Kingdom
Language
Japanese
Subtitles
English
Type
Documentary & Feature
Program Strand
World Documentary
Producer
Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin & Shiori Itō
Cinematographer
Hanna Aqvillin, Yuta Okamura, Shiori Itō, Keke Shiratama & Yuichiro Otsuka
Editor
Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Music
Mark degli Antoni
Film Source
Dogwoof
Genre
Biographical, Documentary & Women
Purchase Tickets
Saturday 26 Oct 2024
04:15 pm
Black Box Diaries
Palace Nova Eastend:
Palace Nova Eastend Cinema 4
Wednesday 30 Oct 2024
06:00 pm
Black Box Diaries
The Piccadilly:
The Piccadilly: Cinema 2
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