Doc Talk Podcast: Director Shiori Itō On Confronting Norms Of Japanese Society, Legal System In ‘Black Box Diaries’

At the IDA Documentary Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Japanese journalist-turned-director Shiori Itō will receive the Emerging Filmmaker Award, recognizing the incredible reception for her directorial debut Black Box Diaries. It’s the deeply personal story of Itō’s attempt to seek justice and accountability after she became the victim of a sexual assault, a public campaign of many years that ultimately led to changes in Japanese law.

The film, which has emerged as a strong Oscar contender, scored IDA Awards nominations this year in three additional categories including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director. Itō joins Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share insights on making the film, winner of awards at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, the San Francisco International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival and many others.

The director explains why the strictures of Japanese culture and norms of politeness embedded in the Japanese language itself made it difficult for her to confront her accused offender, a prominent journalist with close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Initially, she found little support from police and prosecutors who told her they couldn’t file charges because Japanese rape statutes required evidence of a violent sexual assault (Itō was incapacitated at the time of her alleged attack).

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When she decided to go public with her allegations at a press conference, some members of the media and the public attacked her for having a top button undone on her blouse. But she refused to let the backlash deter her. Itō reflects on how the medium of documentary film required her to go beyond the strict parameters of traditional “objective” news reporting (she recalls her impulse early on to seek an interview with her alleged assailant to get “his side of the story,” before realizing the film was truly about claiming her own narrative).

That’s on the new episode of Doc Talk, hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Shirley) and Matt Carey, Deadline’s documentary editor. The pod, a 2024 Webby Awards honoree, is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios.

Listen to the episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.