JFTFP26: Sham

BBFC RatingJFTFP26: Sham

Showing: 07 February 2026

Booking coming soon.
CertificateNot Rated
Year2025
Director(s)Miike Takashi
LanguageJapanese
CountryJapan
Extra InfoEnglish subtitles
Season Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

A devoted teacher, Seiichi (AYANO Go), faces shocking abuse allegations from his pupil’s mother (SHIBASAKI Ko) in this fast-paced drama based on a real incident.

Despite insisting that he has no recollection of the incident and claiming it is completely untrue, Seiichi is forced by his headteacher — more concerned about the school’s reputation — to apologise publicly to the other parents. The gesture, however, fails to end the controversy.

What makes the matter worse is a media exposé that reveals Seiichi’s real name and casts him as a national villain. As public outrage grows, Seiichi is vilified and isolated, while Ritsuko garners sympathy and rallies support for an unprecedented civil lawsuit. Everyday life unravels as despair overwhelms Seiichi, who fiercely continues to deny Ritsuko’s claim.

Internationally acclaimed MIIKE Takashi transforms journalist FUKUDA Masumi’s groundbreaking report, Fabrication: The Truth Behind the Fukuoka 'Murderous Teacher' Case, into this gripping film. The story serves as both a social critique and a moral inquiry, challenging us to question what is real, whom to trust, and how fragile the images we create of others truly are.

Screening as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Programme 2026: Knowing Me, Knowing You - The True Self in Japanese Cinema.

japan2026logos(1).jpg


Membership
community membership
LUMI

logo_queens.jpglogo_niscreen.jpglogo_niscreen.jpglogo_bfi.jpglogo_bcc.jpg