Join us for an intimate conversation with Oscar and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker, writer, and activist Shiori Ito on her memoir Black Box.
The truth is here. Why can’t the judiciary bring this to justice? A journalist who was raped questions the current state of law, investigations, and society. An unthinkable act from someone she respected. But how can she prove this fact? The closed room, the society’s attitude towards acceptance, the suspended arrest warrant. There were “black boxes” everywhere. If the judiciary cannot bring this to justice, something must change. A compelling non-fiction work by a journalist who was raped, who delves into the current situation surrounding the victim.
Shiori Ito is an Oscar and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker, journalist, writer, and activist. Her work focuses on gender-based human rights issues, for which she has been called one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020.
Black Box chronicles Shiori Ito’s experience and investigation of her own sexual assault case, her fight for justice against the high-profile abuser, and a call for change in Japanese society. Upon the memoir’s publication in 2017, Ito sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement through her steadfast challenge to Japan’s patriarchal legal, political, and media institutions. Her choice to go public with her case ignited the country’s legal and cultural reckoning with gender-based violence. Ito adapted the memoir into the documentary, Black Box Diaries, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, received the Peabody Award, and was named one of the top 5 documentary films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.
We are honored to have Shori Ito join us in person for a book talk. Attendees will have an opportunity to hear an intimate account of her experiences forwarding Japan’s #MeToo Movement, her writing, and her filmmaking.
Presented by the Centre for Japanese Research (CJR).
