New Film
BLACK BOX DIARIES follows director and journalist Shiori Ito’s courageous investigation of her ownsexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Unfolding like athriller and combining secret investigative recordings, vérité shooting and emotional first-personvideo, Shiori's quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s desperatelyoutdated judicial and societal systems.
It premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has since been released worldwide. The film has been nominated for both an Academy Award and a BAFTA, won the Peabody Award, and received more than 20 international prizes. Screened in over 50 countries.
About
Shiori Ito is an Oscar and BAFTA nominated documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, and co-founder of Hanashi Films, focusing on gender-based human rights issues. Named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020, her voice continues to resonate globally through film, writing, and public speaking
Films
Ito’s earlier work includes documentaries highlighting social justice and personal stories from across the globe. Her debut feature, Black Box Diaries, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has since been released worldwide. The film won a Peabody Award, received Oscar and BAFTA nominations, and earned more than twenty international prizes. Screened in over fifty countries, it has sparked global conversations on gender, power, and justice.
Books
Ito is the author of Black Box (2017), a memoir based on her own experience of sexual violence that exposed systemic sexism in Japan. In 2018, it won the Free Press Association of Japan’s Best Journalism Award and has since been translated into ten languages including English. Her latest book, Swim Naked (2023), was published in Japan and China, exploring themes of resilience, vulnerability, and survival.
Journalism
Ito’s work has appeared in outlets such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, and The Economist. She was recognized by Newsweek Japan as one of the “100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World” in 2019 and named One Young World’s Journalist of the Year in 2022.
Talks
Alongside her filmmaking and writing, Ito delivers lectures at universities, high schools, and public events worldwide. She shares her experiences as a filmmaker and journalist to inspire the next generation.
