A member of the Japanese women's volleyball team prepares to serve as a packed audience watches on.

The Witches of the Orient

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★★★★ – Little White Lies

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“★★★★ – Rhythmic, palpably exciting stuff” – Little White Lies

“★★★★ – Very strange but true sports history” – The Guardian

“Colourful, thoughtful cinematic essay on a legendary volleyball team” – Variety

 

The otherworldly brilliance of the Japanese women’s volleyball team of the 1950s and 1960s is the subject of this mesmerising documentary from Julien Faraut (John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection).

Featuring incredible colour 16mm archive footage, Faraut documents the rise of a team from humble beginnings as factory workers to a 258-game winning streak that would earn them their “witches” nickname and see them crowned the first ever women’s Olympic volleyball champions.

 

Dir: Julien Faraut

BBFC certification:  U

Fra 2021, 1hr 40mins, Japanese with English subtitles