London-based international documentary sales and production company Dogwoof has secured more international sales for Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries,” which was shortlisted for an Oscar last week for best documentary feature.
The film premiered in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and has since become a cult favorite and critical favorite at international festivals around the world, picking up numerous awards along the way.
Dogwoof gained more sales in territories including BBC Storyville (UK), ZDF/Arte (Germany and France), and Sky Digi Ent. (Taiwan), Star Alliance (China), Expect (Singapore and Thailand), Falcon Pictures (Indonesia), Discovery (former Yugoslavia), and MBC (Middle East and North Africa).
Previously announced sales include: Art House Films (France), Trigon (Switzerland), Periscoop (Benelux), NonStop (Scandinavia and Baltics), Anticipate Pictures (Singapore), Filmin (Spain), Sherry Media (Canada), and EDKO ( Hong Kong). .
MTV Documentary Films, which acquired the US distribution rights from Dogwoof, will premiere the film on Paramount+ with Showtime on January 7, before Oscar nomination voting opens on January 8. Dogwoof released the film in theaters in the UK and Ireland in October.
Black Box Diaries follows director Ito’s courageous investigation into her own sexual assault in an unlikely attempt to bring the high-profile perpetrator to justice. Unfolding like a thriller and combining covert investigative recordings, reality photography and emotional first-person video, her quest becomes a high-profile case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems.
A journalist, writer and filmmaker focusing on gender-based human rights issues, Ito wrote the best-selling book The Black Box based on her experiences. The book won the Japan Free Press Association Best Journalism Award in 2018 and is now available in 11 languages, including English. For her contribution to Japan’s #MeToo movement, Ito was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2020.
“The Black Box Diaries” is directed by Ito and produced by Eric Nyari, Hannah Ackfelin, and Ito. The film is directed by Emma Ryan Yamazaki (2025 Academy Award nominee for Documentary Short). The film is directed by Hana Ackvillin, Yuta Okamura, Ito, Kiki Shiratama, and Yuichiro Otsuka. Original score is by Marc Degli Anthony. Executive producers are Robina Riccitiello, Josh Peters, and Mitsunobu Kawamura. The film is directed by Hanashi Films, Cineric Creative and Star Sands.