Sham

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026: Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in JapaneseCinema.  

Co-presented by the Japan Foundation.

Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

To believe, or not to believe, that is the question….

Fukuoka, 2003. Elementary school teacher YABUSHITA Seiichi (AYANO Go, Let’s Go Karaoke!, JFTFP25) is devoted to his job. One day, he is accused of brutally disciplining an allegedly mixed-race child by the boy’s mother, HIMURO Ritsuko (SHIBASAKI Ko), who claims that her son even tried to take his own life as a result of the trauma. Despite insisting that he has no recollection of the incident and claiming it is completely untrue, Seiichi is forced by his headteacher — who is more concerned about the school’s reputation — to apologise publicly in front of the other parents, in the hope that this will put an end to the matter. However, it does not.

A news reporter, NARUMI Michihiko (KAMENASHI Kazuya), seizes on the story, publishing a sensational exposé that reveals Seiichi’s real name and casts him as a national villain. As public outrage grows, Seiichi is vilified and isolated, while Ritsuko garners sympathy and rallies support for an unprecedented civil lawsuit backed by more than 500 lawyers. Everyday life falls apart, and bottomless despair weighs heavily on Seiichi, who vehemently denies Ritsuko’s claim, insisting, "It's all a baseless fabrication."

Internationally acclaimed MIIKE Takashi transforms journalist FUKUDA Masumi’s groundbreaking report, Fabrication: The Truth Behind the Fukuoka 'Murderous Teacher' Case, into the gripping film Sham. The story serves as both a social critique and a moral inquiry, challenging us to question what is real, whom to trust, and how fragile the images we create of others truly are.

Contains references to abuse and implications of child suicide.

Screenings

Fantasia International Film Festival 2025, Jerusalem Film Festival 2025, Melbourne International Film Festival 2025,

Shanghai International Film Festival 2025, Sigtes International Fantastic Film Festival 2025, Tribeca Film Festival 2025