When journalist Shiori Ito is raped by a colleague, she decides to seek justice, in the face of a Japanese culture of silence. In a legal battle that lasts years, she takes on police and politicians, and the unequal relationship between men and women.
Black Box Diaries is an excruciatingly detailed documentation of the year-long struggle for justice in a rape case that almost completely destroyed a female journalist’s life, but ultimately led to the development of #metoo movement in Japan. Shiori Ito was brave enough not only to decisively confront the inequality of the Japanese patriarchal conservative society, but also to share everything that’s happened in her life behind the scenes with us. She joins us on stage for an intimate in-depth conversation about her personal trauma that shifted the rigid political landscape of Japan.
IDFA x De Balie
Overwhelmed by the vast selection of documentaries at IDFA? De Balie curates a selection of six remarkable films that together cover a wide range of burning contemporary issues. Each of these documentaries has been chosen for its outspoken artistic vision. But most importantly, we’ve selected these films because they provoke conversation. We invite thinkers, artists and experts on stage after the screening to deepen our understanding of what we’ve seen.
The best of IDFA selected by De Balie from November 14 till 24
The best of IDFA selected by De Balie from November 14 till 24

What is life? This film is a nuanced and playful philosophical reflection on that question.

As the head of the Nazi film guild in the Netherlands during the Second World War, filmmaker Jan Teunissen became known as ‘the Dutch Leni Riefenstahl.’
