Perhaps best known for his electrifying 1977 cult masterpiece House, Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938-2020) also produced some of Japan’s most beloved seishun eiga (youth films) throughout the 1980s. Opening with a rare 35mm import of his playful coming-of-age body-swap feature I Are You, You Am Me (Exchange Students), Obayashi ’80s showcases the filmmaker’s rarely seen yet beloved Onomichi Trilogy, set within the winding paths of his hometown of Onomichi—the iconic seaside setting of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story—along with Kadokawa-era classics illustrating his idiosyncratic cinematic language and eternal themes of lost love and nostalgia.
Browse the lineup and become a Japan Society member to save 20% per ticket on all series screenings for you and a guest!
I Are You, You Am Me (Exchange Students)
Imported 35mm Print. A playful melange of amateur small-gauge, b&w and color photography, Obayashi’s first entry in his hometown trilogy spins into a gender-swap youth film when two classmates switch bodies after a steep fall.
School in the Crosshairs
A psychotronic fantasy forged into a young girl’s destiny to defend the planet, School in the Crosshairs is a cosmic overload of extraterrestrial fascists, preternatural powers and Obayashi’s uniquely adroit filmmaking abilities.
The Little Girl Who Conquered Time
Schoolgirl Kazuko begins to experience time leaps backwards and forwards in time, disorienting her as she yearns to stay in the present. Obayashi’s second Onomichi film is a genuine expression of the transcendence of love—one cast across the stars for a young girl who lives in tomorrow.

Lonely Heart (Miss Lonely)
40th Anniversary—Imported 16mm Print. The final installment in Obayashi’s Onomichi Trilogy is a virtuosic ode to first love and the intrinsic emotions that arise with it as a young boy falls in love and encounters a mysterious girl in the viewfinder of his analog camera.
The Island Closest to Heaven
Fulfilling her late father’s dream to take her to “the island closest to heaven,” bookish teen Mari ventures solo to a paradise-laden archipelago in search of the mythic locale.
His Motorbike, Her Island
A nostalgia-filled reminiscence, Obayashi’s monochromatic dream playfully worships the biker culture of yesteryear, delivering a sentimental and liberating take on young love.
To see the full program follow this link.