In 2020, the film-maker, journalist, author and campaigner Shiori Itō was named by Time magazine as one of the world’s most influential people. But in 2015, when she was raped by a respected and well-connected colleague, she was powerless. Her attacker, TV journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi, presumably assumed that his standing would protect him and that his victim’s shame would keep her quiet. Japan’s outdated legal system worked in his favour, and Itō’s criminal case against him was dismissed. Undeterred, she took a journalistic approach, investigating her own assault for a book and for this courageous documentary.
It’s an exceptionally generous work from Itō, who lays herself open both in the highs – she celebrates each small triumph in the debilitating slog towards justice and a cultural sea change – and the considerable lows. It’s a tough watch – at the start, she suggests that we “close our eyes and take a deep breath if we need to” – but a brave and important one.
In UK and Irish cinemas
