The sudden segment dedicated to Ruiz in the middle of Maite Alberdi’s Oscar-nominated documentary feels both surprising and like the only possible result.

Chilean cinema prior to the September 1973 coup gave us a portrait of a hopeful nation before it would be changed forever.

Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs proposes a perfectly cinephilic survey of the century so far that favors the deep cut over the known masterpiece, with the likes of Naomi Kawase and Hirokazu Kore-eda sharing the spotlight with younger filmmakers to forward a Proustian snapshot of the past two decades of Japanese cinema.

For the 2020 edition, Japan Cuts, like so many festivals, has become an online affair. But instead of scaling down for this pandemic edition, the programmers and organizers of Japan Cuts have boldly expanded their grasp while maintaining its usual selections: flashy opening and centerpiece films, a Documentary Focus, an Experimental Spotlight, a small bath of restored Classics, a Shorts Showcase, and a slate of solid feature films.

Inked in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco specified the compensations and conditions Japan had to comply with following its defeat in World War II, essentially marking the nation’s first steps toward regaining sovereignty, but it also affected the cultural landscape of the country.

Japan Society and the Museum of Modern Art have joined forces to present the bold claim that Kazuo Miyagawa was Japanese cinema’s greatest cinematographer.

Japan Society’s recent film series “Yuzo Kawashima x Ayako Wakao” presents a compelling counterpoint to Ozu’s vision of Japanese society by way of three films directed by Yuzo Kawashima, all of which were released around the same time as An Autumn Afternoon (1962).