Screening times:
Friday, Dec 6, 6:30 PM
Saturday, Dec 7, 6:30 PM - half-capacity screening
Shiori Ito | Japan, USA, UK | 2024 | 103m | Japanese with English subtitles
When 28-year-old journalist Shiori Ito goes public in May 2017 with her rape allegation against a well-respected journalist and biographer to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, she feels she has no other choice in order to change Japan’s antiquated sexual assault laws. Her press conference shocks a society where a woman speaking up on such matters is considered shameful.
Ito is swept into the center of Japanese politics — the right wing views her as a threat to bring down the Abe government and the left hails her a hero for the same reason. Death threats, cyberbullying, and hate mail send Ito into a downward spiral. When she files a civil case, the accused wages all-out public relations war against her. Determined not to back down, despite the pressure, Ito pushes forward with her case and resolves to publish a book about her experience.
The fact the victim is also the filmmaker makes her documentary the most personal of material, but what distinguishes the documentary is its journalistic rigour alongside thoughtful cinematography and editing, delivering a political thriller with a universal effect. It captures Ito's tumultuous, heart-wrenching, and ultimately triumphant journey, revealing the personal toll of a society’s web of politics, media, and technology on the humanity of its individuals. Black Box Diaries is about what can be required to create social change.
"In its devastation and familiarity, Ito’s debut feature finds company among works that realize the power of survivor testimony."-Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter
"The trigger warning at the start of the film is there for a reason. It’s an unsparing, fly-on-the-wall journey through a legal and societal hellscape that raises at least as many questions as it answers."-Philip De Semlyen, Time Out
"Ito is an amazing personality: an intelligent, courageous journalist who may have changed the course of Japanese history."-Peter Bradshaw, Observer (UK)
Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision - Seattle International Film Festival
Human:Rights Award - CPH:DOX
Honorable Mention, Best International Feature Length Film Award - It's All True Festival
Top 5 Audience Favourite - Hot Docs
Documentary Honorable Mention - San Francisco International Film Festival
Saturday half-capacity screening
