A magical and moving archive trip through the universal theme of love, from the very first kisses ever caught on film, through the disruption of war to the birth of youth culture, gay liberation and free love, we follow courting couples flirting at tea dances, kissing in the back of the movies, shacking up and fighting for the right to love.

This fascinating documentary is based around the Japanese wrestling organisation Gaea’s rural training camp, and traces, in the main, the careers of four hopefuls. In charge are two magnificent specimens, the butch champion Chigusa Nagaya, still venting her hurt at the hands of her army father as she tries to whip her surrogate daughters through the pain and commitment barriers; and her sophisticated and slightly menacing Chairman. It’s a gruelling, physical film, as you would expect, but the makers don’t make heavy weather of it. And it certainly disposes of any idea that the game is faked.

Longinotto’s documentary is about Brenda Myers-Powell, who fights against sexual exploitation and supports prostitutes in Chicago. Brenda knows what she is talking about: her own story, involving teenage prostitution and a life of violence and abuse, is in stark contrast to her dauntless energy and optimism.