Reaktionszeit

Reaktionszeit

14th of February 2026 – 8 p.m. Hackesche Höfe Kino

Films:
MAG MAG
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF LOVE

Debate Format: REAKTIONSZEIT

Patience is key: a discussion between our guests about the evening’s film program, in which the filmmakers present are initially allowed only to listen. Later, they will have the opportunity to respond.

Debate guests include: Florian Höhr, Yuriyan Retriever

MAG MAG (禍禍女)

D: Yuriyan Retriever, C: Sara Minami, Maeda Oshiro, Aoi Yamada, Atsuko Hirata, Junsei Motojima, DOP: Hideki Shima, JPN 2025, 112 Min., Japanese Original with English Subtitles

Fiercely twisting the tropes of Japanese horror, Yuriyan Retriever—Japan’s boldest comedian—brings her own history of bad romance to bear on her directorial debut, a riotously unhinged tale of obsessive love and gory revenge. The gruesome ghost Mag Mag only appears to her crushes, and only slaughters these terrified men when they make it clear that they don’t reciprocate her feelings—though, as it turns out, she’s not the only monster around when it comes to love. The first film from K2 Pictures, led by a board of directors including Takashi Miike, Hirokazu Koreeda and Miwa Nishikawa, MAG MAG is hellbent on shredding audience expectations of J-horror by crossing it with gonzo satire, taking the absurd behaviors of all-too-human lovers to feral extremes.

Yuriyan Retriever 

Born in Yoshino County, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Bachelor in Literature at Kansai University. Enrolled to NSC, the most famous comedy school in Japan, while still at university. Graduated from NSC at the top of her class after winning the 2013 NSC Grand Live.

She is also active as an artist and highly acclaimed rapper. In addition, she has been involved in TV dramas, commercials, voice acting and has signed advertising contracts with global companies such as NIKE and KitKat. She has more than 1 million followers on Instagram. In recent years, she has also been a member of the jury for the Japan Horror Film Awards (organized by Nico Nico). Yuriyan Retriever’s talent continues to blossom beyond the boundaries of comedy. Her next goal… “I wanna be the female Clint Eastwood!” Yuriyan has put her job as a comedian behind her and is now ready to enter the world of cinema. She moved to LA at the end of 2024 to fulfill that dream.

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF LOVE

D: Gabriel Abrantes, C: Jack Haven, Inês Castel-Branco, POR 2025, 9 Min., English Original

Three scenes about two figures, draped in white sheets and in love. These two CGI bodies haunt this film as if they were human beings, or had once been human beings. Perhaps they are ghosts, already deceased—or merely invisible beings with a penchant for large pieces of fabric, tragically alive and caught up in constant conflict. In his animated short, Gabriel Abrantes lets them argue, cry, fail, lament, and sing as if their story had weight and meaning, as if they had pasts, identities, biographies. An absurd experimental film about artificiality, horror and tragedy, love and hate, carried by memories of cinema’s masterpieces and clichés, and yet opposing them at the same time.