The Sion Sono (2016)

The ever-evolving Sion Sono, who burst onto the Japanese film scene with “I Am Sion Sono!!” in 1984, has made a name for himself in world cinema as a numerous award-winner, festival favorite and provocateur. Directed by Arata Oshima, son of rebel filmmaker Nagisa Oshima, who had praised Sono’s early work before his passing, this documentary gives insight into the man, the poet, the painter, the scriptwriter, the husband and the boy who will eventually grow up to be the Sion Sono. Lineage, history and the past meeting the present are themes in this film in which Oshima connects the dots in Sono’s creative life by taking the camera to the site of his upbringing and following the production of his most recent film “The Whispering Star,” also screening at this year’s JAPAN CUTS. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film