THE WITCHES OF THE ORIENT

Directed by Julien Faraut
Documentary | Japanese/French | France | 100 min

Meet the former players of the Japanese women’s volleyball team. Now in their 70s, they used to be known as the ‘Witches of the Orient’ because of their seemingly supernatural powers on the courts.

From the formation of the squad in the late 1950s as a workers’ team at a textile factory, right up until their triumph at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, their memories and true magic from long ago bubble up into a heady brew where fact and fable fly hand in hand.

Q&A WITH DANNY LEIGH, JULIEN FARAUT AND MATT ALT

Bookshop.org x Witches Virtual Screening Room ticket comes with an additional pre-recorded Q&A. Hosted by Danny Leigh (chief film writer at the Financial Times) in discussion with Julien Faraut (director) and Matt Alt (Writer of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World), the conversation spans topics including Japanese culture, post-war Japan and manga/anime.

WATCH THE Q&A HERE