A Moving Exploration of a Nihilist's Search for Identity
Sneak Preview Screening: "KANEKO FUMIKO" (Kaneko Fumiko: Nani ga Watashi wo Kou Sasetaka) 
followed by a Q&A with director Sachi Hamano and actress Nahana

Monday, February 16 at 6:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles 
Japan 2026 121 minutes

Directed by: Sachi Hamano
Written by: Kuninori Yamazaki
Produced by: Sachi Hamano
Starring:
Nahana, Katsuya Kobayahi, Masaki Miura, Yoriko Doguchi, Takashi Yuki, Goro Sato,
Shinobu Torii, Misa Wada, Sakuya, Kazuko Shirakawa, Hisako Ookata, Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Film courtesy of Tantansha

Sachi Hamano has devoted her entire five-decade film career to illuminating the female experience, rejecting the film industry's commodification of women's bodies and sexuality for male desires, and depicting real women rather than doormats. With 300 film releases since 1971, she is the most prolific and written-about female pink (erotic) film creator of all time.

But Hamano has also directed "regular" works about unique real-life figures, among other topics, and "Kaneko Fumiko" is essential viewing. One of the most radical and unsettling figures in modern Japanese history, Kaneko died 100 years ago in solitary confinement in Tochigi Women's Prison. Her own story-and not the Japanese state's or the media's-has never been told.

Before we meet the 23-year-old, imprisoned nihilist, Kaneko (Nahana) has led a harsh life. Abandoned by her parents, she was taken in by family members on the Korean peninsula, where she was treated as a slave. There, she witnessed Japan's brutal colonial rule and the Korean independence movement. At 16, she was allowed to return to Japan, and set about educating herself. Considering and disregarding several ideologies, Kaneko soon met Park Yeol, a nihilist. The two began publishing a magazine criticizing Japanese imperialism and colonialism, and fomenting against the government.

"Kaneko Fumiko" opens following the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, when Park and Kaneko are framed as  bombers who had targeted the Crown Prince, an act that gave the government a justification for the massacre of Koreans by the state and civilians. The pair are sentenced to death by the Supreme Court, but due to the lack of evidence, their sentences are commuted to life imprisonment.

Focusing on the 121 days between the death sentence and Kaneko's suicide in prison, Hamano's unconventional biodrama draws on trial records and the young prisoner's surviving tanka poems and other writings to depict her final confrontation with the Japanese state. "Kaneko Fumiko" is anchored by a searing performance from Nahana, as a woman who insists that even death must remain an act of freedom.

Please join us for this sneak preview of "Kaneko Fumiko" before the Japan release on February 28, 2026. 
For more (in Japanese): https://kanekofumiko-movie.com/

SACHI HAMANO decided to become a director while she was in high school, but faced with studios refusing to hire women as potential directors, she began her career in the softcore porn industry. She was determined to depict sexuality from a woman's perspective. In 1968, she began work as an assistant director in independent production companies, and in 1971 made her debut as a director. In 1984, she founded her own production company, Tantansha, and worked as both producer and director. Hamano has released over 300 films since 1971, including "Midori" (1998), "Lily Festival" (2001), "The Cricket Girl" (2006), "Yoshiko & Yuriko" (2011) and "The Landlady" (2019). Her publications include "When Women Make Films" (Heibonsha Shinsho) and "Professions Women Cannot Have" (Korokara). Among other honors, she was the recipient of the 4th Women's Culture Award in 2000.

Actress NAHANA made her acting debut as the lead in "Yumeno" (2005) and went on to appear in a range of memorable roles in such notable films as "Heaven's Story" (2010), "Helpless and Reckless" (2012, winner of the Best Actress Award at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival), "64" (2016), "The Last Recipe" (2017), "Erica 38" (2019), "Red Snow," (2019, Best Actor Award at the LA Japan Film Festival), "Noise" (2022), "She Is Me, I Am Her" (2022, Best Actress Award at the Eikan Awards), and became the first Japanese recipient of the Career Achievement Award at the Asian Pop-Up Cinema Festival in Chicago in 2023. Nahana first worked with director Sachi Hamano on "Yoshiko & Yuriko" (2011) and "The Landlady" (2019).

Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online. 
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.

- Karen Severns, Film Committee