Reiwa Uprising - Part I

Kazuo Hara follows the new Reiwa Shinsengumi (beautiful harmony-era “new squad”) party, formed by actor-turned-politician Taro Yamamoto (Battle Royale) just three months before the July 2019 Japanese House of Councillors election—an ambitious leftist platform staging jubilant political demonstrations with music and horses. The diverse slate of candidates includes transgender Tokyo University professor Ayumi Yasutomi and disabled politicians Yasuhiko Funago and Eiko Kimura, dedicated to interrupting rightwing status quo and widespread political apathy. A project proposed to Hara by Yasutomi in the lead-up to her political campaign, Reiwa Uprising is the first and only project completed by Hara without Sachiko Kobayashi.

“Reiwa Uprising is a compelling character study, but time may prove it to also be an invaluable document of the birth of booming anti-establishment, populist movement in a nation that has been governed almost exclusively by the same party since its 1955 foundation.” —Filmmaker Magazine

Streaming in the U.S. from June 4-July 2 as part of Cinema as Struggle: The Films of Kazuo Hara & Sachiko Kobayashi | Also available in the U.S. as a part of our discounted 5-Film Bundle 2 for $20