Tokyo Film Festival Launches With Global Ambitions — SkimNews
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- Tokyo International Film Festival opens October 26 with Zeze Takahisa’s Sukiyaki and runs through November 4 in the Hibiya-Ginza district, marking its pre-40th-anniversary edition with a renewed focus on global and local cinematic exchange
- Takeo Hisamatsu, returning as Festival Director, aims to blend art and entertainment by attracting Hollywood studios back to Japan, citing last year’s record box office that surpassed pre-pandemic levels
- Shozo Ichiyama, Programming Director, emphasizes world premieres in the Competition section, selecting three Japanese films—The Canary’s Lullaby, Two Cigarettes Three Nights, and The Intertwining—that reflect international collaborations and emerging directorial voices
- International Competition includes 15 titles such as Garin Nugroho’s Red Before Dawn, Milcho Manchevski’s Sister Brother Manhole Cover, and Rubaiyat Hussain’s The Difficult Bride—the first Bangladeshi film ever in Tokyo’s main competition—screening as world premieres
- TIFFCOM, the festival’s industry market, runs October 28–30 in Hamamatsucho to connect international films with Japanese buyers, especially as the weak yen discourages independent distributors from traveling to Venice or Toronto
- Cate Blanchett attends the festival to present five short films from the Displacement Film Fund and as producer on Alpha Gang, added to Special Screenings, while Mohammad Rasoulof and Mipo O receive the Kurosawa Akira Award
Why it matters: With Japan’s box office at a record high but the yen weakening, international filmmakers gain a rare in-country platform for exposure to local audiences and distributors who can’t afford overseas travel—making TIFFCOM a critical access point for global titles seeking Asian market entry, while Japanese films get curated international visibility.
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