THE WITCHES OF THE ORIENT

Directed by Julien Faraut
Documentary | Japanese/French | France | 100 min

Meet the former players of the Japanese women’s volleyball team. Now in their 70s, they used to be known as the ‘Witches of the Orient’ because of their seemingly supernatural powers on the courts.

From the formation of the squad in the late 1950s as a workers’ team at a textile factory, right up until their triumph at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, their memories and true magic from long ago bubble up into a heady brew where fact and fable fly hand in hand.

ONLINE Q&A | 26 July 6.30PM

From the courts to the drawing board, how did an Olympic volleyball team inspire a whole generation of manga and anime? Join in on a live online Q&A with director Julien Faraut and writer and comic expert Paul Gravett on Monday 26th July at 6.30PM.
Join the online Q&A here.