Sham

Part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026 - Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema

Japanese title: でっちあげ ~殺人教師と呼ばれた男 (Detchiage: Satsujin kyoshi to yobareta otoko)

Fukuoka, 2003. Elementary school teacher Seiichi Yabushita  is devoted to his job. One day, he is accused by a boy’s mother, Ritsuko Himuro, of brutally disciplining her allegedly mixed-race son. Despite insisting that he has no recollection of the incident and claiming it is completely untrue, Seiichi is forced by his headteacher — more concerned about the school’s reputation — to apologise publicly to the other parents. The gesture, however, fails to end the controversy.

What makes the matter worse is a media 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. Everyday life unravels as despair overwhelms Seiichi, who fiercely continues to deny Ritsuko’s claim.

Internationally acclaimed Takashi Miike transforms journalist Masumi Fukuda's groundbreaking report, Fabrication: The Truth Behind the Fukuoka 'Murderous Teacher' Case, into this gripping film. 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>