Kaneko Isamu (Higashide Masahiro) is the genius programmer behind the real-life peer-to-peer file-sharing program Winny. Released in 2002 and considered revolutionary at the time, Winny quickly became the software of choice for online piracy in Japan, attracting attention from users and suspicion from authorities. In 2003, two of the program’s users were arrested for using Winny to share copyrighted material, and beginning in 2004, Kaneko would also be arrested, tried, and ultimately found guilty of enabling these copyright violations.

Winny is a powerful retelling of the real events that befell Kaneko and his legal team, directed by promising director Matsumoto Yusaku. As Kaneko’s legal battle unfolds, Matsumoto crafts a thought-provoking exploration of a question that remains strikingly relevant in today’s era of technological omnipresence: to what extent can the creator of a technology be held responsible for its users’ actions?