This episode focuses on the Japanese filmmaker of the moment, Hamaguchi Ryusuke, whose cinematic adaptation of Murakami Haruki's novel "Drive My Car" won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film. After discussing the film's appeal, we further explore what makes Hamaguchi's works so unique with titles such as "Happy Hour," which first put him under the international spotlight in 2015, as well as "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy," the winner of the 2021 Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Speaking of which, we look at some of the Japanese films that were presented at this year's edition of the festival, including "My Small Land," and the animated short that received a Special Mention, "Bird in the Peninsula." [Navigator] Sarah Macdonald [Guest] Markus Nornes (Professor of Asian Cinema, University of Michigan)