The Story of a Butcher Shop

The Kitades run a butcher shop in Kaizuka City outside Osaka, raising and slaughtering cattle to sell the meat in their store. The seventh generation of their family's business, they are descendants of the buraku people, a social minority held over from the caste system abolished in the 19th century that is still subject to discrimination. As the Kitades are forced to make the difficult decision to shut down their slaughterhouse, the question posed by the film is whether doing this will also result in the deconstruction of the prejudices imposed on them. Though primarily documenting the process of their work with meticulous detail, Aya Hanabusa also touches on the Kitades' participation in the buraku liberation movement. Hanabusa's heartfelt portrait expands from the story of an old-fashioned family business competing with corporate supermarkets, toward a subtle and sophisticated critique of social exclusion and the persistence of ancient prejudices.

Beneath the Harvest Sky

During harvest break, Casper is drawn into smuggling drugs across the Canadian border with his outlaw father, Clayton. Meanwhile, Dominic works his final potato harvest, hoping to earn the money he needs to buy a car and take them away towards a better future. But with Casper’s life unraveling before their eyes, their friendship and loyalty are put to the test as they are forced to mature and make very adult decisions that will forever alter the course of their lives.

Los reyes de la macana

Bottle George

The short explores the relationship between George, a man trapped inside a small bottle, and Chako, a young girl who is scared of her alcoholic father. She is poor, but resilient, and she lives with her cat.