Bosozoku Beach: Japanese Biker Films in the Rockaways

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 02 June 2025 14:07

Written by Brad Balfour

His Motorbike, Her Island

Rev up your engines and pack a bento, because Rockaway Film Festival has a slate of classic biker films from Japan!  Presented by Screen Slate in conjunction with Rockaway Film Festival, Bosozoku Beach on June 7 at Rockaway’s Arverne Cinema (72-02 Gouverneur Ave, Arverne, NY) features three films: God Speed You! Black Emperor, Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, and His Motorbike, Her Island. Bosozoku is the biker sub-culture that emerged out of Japan’s post-war years, as bike customization, clashes with the police, and a new breed of youth culture coalesced. These three films represent that era. 

Directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi, God Speed You! Black Emperor is a gritty and up-close documentary shot on 16mm as he embeds himself with one of Japan’s most infamous biker gang, the Black Emperors.  Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss stars Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) in a stylish music filled action romp as girl-gangs clash with right-wing nationalists on the streets of Tokyo. Capping off the trilogy of films is His Motorbike, Her Island from the legendary director Nobuhiko Obayashi (House). A story of young love, yearning, and bikes, Obayashi’s film was part of the teen-centric films Kadokawa released in the 1980s, but with a unique visual flare that only Obayashi could craft.

To learn more, go to: https://www.rockawayfilmfestival.org/program/bosozoku-beach

Bosozoku Beach: Japanese Biker Films in the Rockaways
June 7, 2025

Arverne Cinema
72-02 Gouverneur Ave
Arverne, NY 11692

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