Hyōe Yamamoto

July 1, 2000. British 21-year-old Lucie Blackman goes missing in Tokyo, sparking an international investigation — and an unyielding quest for justice.

10 amateur bakers from Japan compete in three challenges per episode, baking sweets, pastries, cakes, and bread according to a theme or to the instructions of the two judges, who are themselves professional bakers. Every episode ends with the announcement of a Star Baker, the baker who performed exceptionally well that episode, and with an unfortunate (and usually tear-filled) elimination. At the end of the show, one very talented home baker is declared the winner.

Kyoko is an aspiring writer whose artistic vision is yet to be formed. When her girlfriend Rie asks her to move in with her, Kyoko begins to wonder about their uncertain future as a lesbian couple in Tokyo.

In October 2011, Michael Woodford was suddenly ousted as CEO of Olympus Corporation, a multi-billion dollar Japanese optical company. What followed was international media furor which exposed one of the biggest scandals in Japanese corporate history. The film chronicles the saga of egregious corporate malefactors and a doomed East-West clash.

The Distance tells the unlikely and inspirational story of a charismatic coach named Yoshio Koide and his star long-distance running pupil, Naoko Takahashi, as they try to overcome decades of Japanese disappointment and heartbreak in the marathon with a run for the ages at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, resulting in a gold-medal win.