In rapidly industrializing post-war Japan, returning soldiers and disillusioned youth turned to thundering motorbikes as sources of identity, camaraderie, and adrenaline. By the 1970s, bosozoku gangs had become a fully formed subculture based around customized bikes, violent clashes with authority, and outlandish and often transgressive fashion that took cues from Imperial Japan, kamikaze pilot uniforms, hippies, and American greasers.

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It’s no surprise that Japan produced some of the very best motorcycle cinema, arguably surpassing the American post-Easy Rider biker flick boom in both quantity and quality. Featuring iconic bikes from Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki, the bosozoku films are anarchic pop-art gems that reflect the mash-up of cultural symbols and sensibilities revving through the motorcycle subculture. For Bosozoku Beach, Screen Slate and Rockaway Film Festival invite people to join us for three of the very best: Mitsuo Yanagimachi’s visceral gang documentary God Speed You! Black Emperor, the motogirl classic Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, and House director Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s high-speed romance His Motorbike, Her Island. Show up on two wheels for half-priced admission.

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Programmed and presented by Screen Slate, Andrea Torres, and Rockaway Film Festival.

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‍Tickets: $20 all day, $10 one film

Show up on two wheels for half-priced admission

Screen Slate members free