Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

The Fortress (Fernand Melgar, 2008)

If all the vapid pre-Oscar hype leaves you cold, then head over to Yakult Hall for the Amnesty Film Festival 2011. Presented by Amnesty International Japan, the two-day fest features eight films, including Turkish director Atil Inac’s A Step Into the Darkness, about the lone survivor of a military attack on an Iraqi village, and the documentary Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, about young Burmese citizen journalists. On the final day, a doc about Tokyo’s Ainu community will be screened along with live performances of traditional songs. Six of the eight films are in English or have English subtitles.

Jan 29-30, various times. Same-day tickets ¥3,000. Yakult Hall, 1-1-19 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku. Nearest stn: Shimbashi. www.aiten.org