At the core of this program of Japanese shorts are the highlights, of Samurai Shorts the latest HD-cam wonders produced by Wataru Furuta (Burst the Earth, MIFF 2001) which are having their international premieres at MIFF.

Emu is a thoroughly modern and highly stylised re-visiting of an ancient Japanese myth.

Room Service pays tribute to the world's greatest porter (and the hotel world's most annoying guest).

In Parking, one man, one car and one parking meter feature in a tale of the hardships of contemporary city life.

And in the last of the Samurai shorts, Everybody Lies in Roppongi, Killer Joe has a hard time convincing the hostesses that he really does deserve the title.

Also featured in the programme are; Japanese Tradition: Dogeza and Japanese Tradition: Sushi, two hilarious how-to guides to Japanese etiquette, Koji Yamamura's highly regarded adaptation of the fable Atama-yama, Mt. Head, and the freaky nightmare-inducing rabbits of Usagi go Kowai.