Black Box Diaries

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1:33

Black Box Diaries

2024

1h 43m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

BLACK BOX DIARIES follows director and journalist Shiori Ito's courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Unfolding like a thriller and combining secret investigative recordings, vérité shooting and emotional first-person video, Shiori's quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's desperately outdated judicial and societal systems.

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Critics Consensus

A deeply personal and courageous act of vulnerability created through an exercise of revelations makes Black Box Diaries a testament of Shiori Itō's commitment to truth and justice for all.

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Aparita Bhandari

Globe and Mail

11/21/2024

An important reminder of the trials women across the world face when reporting sexual crimes.

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Lovia Gyarkye

The Hollywood Reporter

10/30/2024

In its devastation and familiarity, Ito’s debut feature finds company among works that realize the power of survivor testimony.

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Philip De Semlyen

Time Out

10/29/2024

4/5

It’s an unsparing, fly-on-the-wall journey through a legal and societal hellscape that raises at least as many questions as it answers.

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Mark Schilling

Japan Times

Dec 8

4/5

[A] brave, disturbing and deeply personal film.

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Margot Harrison

Seven Days (VT)

Sep 3

Black Box Diaries is a riveting effort to take back [Shiori Itô's] personhood.

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Calvin Law

The Asian Cut

Jul 23

4.5/5

By showing us both the personal and public scope of the case, the documentary shows how it all continually pushes [Shiori Itō] to her limits, wearing her down.

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Vince Q.

@Vincedeq Oct 31

Doc feature about a high profile case in Japan in 2017, settled on appeal in 2024, and highlighting the draconian laws women are forced to abide in most every country.

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Fong Kok Hoong F

@RT29722865 Apr 19

Enduring hurt, shame and public scrutiny, a journalist and a victim of a sexual assault documenting her process of prosecuting her high-powered aggressor is an admirably courageous piece of documentary filmmaking with a chilling moment from listening to the recount of the attack and tearfully heartening ones of heroic individuals stepping up to support her #MeToo journey in this Oscar and BAFTA nominee for Best Documentary Feature Film.

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Nano T

@RT55495367 03/20/2025

I never usually cry when I watch pieces of media, but this has made me, and that says alot. To me she is a powerful author, journalist, public figure and most importantly, woman. If she hadn't come forward, there would be zero improvements from the situation in Japan.

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C R

@RT20661896 03/20/2025

Harrowing, immensely brave & powerful documentary by Shiori Ito. Everyone needs to see this

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 03/16/2025

Whilst it feels important and you can’t help but be angry at the Japanese justice system, the driver and the door man, let alone the culprit…it is a bit long and boring to watch unfortunately. Watched on BBC IPlayer.

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Jonathan K

@aFIREintheattic 03/01/2025

What courage. To have gone through something so horrific, then willingly step into the spotlight of press, character attacks, and a corrupt system of power with outdated laws. The fact that she left the camera rolling for so many vulnerable moments really lets you witness, at least a tiny glimpse, of the trauma, the non-linear healing process, the bits and pieces of closure, and the fight for something bigger than yourself. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must’ve been to make this film: as the victim, the subject, and the storyteller all at once.

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Shiori Ito

Director

Shiori Ito

Self

Eric Nyari

Producer

Hanna Aqvilin

Producer

Shiori Ito

Producer

Mitsunobu Kawamura

Executive Producer

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Black Box Diaries: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

BLACK BOX DIARIES follows director and journalist Shiori Ito's courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Unfolding like a thriller and combining secret investigative recordings, vérité shooting and emotional first-person video, Shiori's quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's desperately outdated judicial and societal systems.

Director: Shiori Ito
Producer: Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin, Shiori Ito
Distributor: MTV Documentary Films
Production Co: Hanashi Films, Cineric Creative, Spark Features, Star Sands
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2025
Runtime: 1h 43m

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