The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today unveiled the full lineup and other highlights of its 37th edition in a press conference held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, one of the festival’s main venues.
As previously announced, TIFF will open with the world premiere of 11 Rebels, an action-packed jidaigeki period piece directed by Shiraishi Kazuya, and close with the French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio, a Cannes standout directed by Christophe Honoré. The 10-day festival will feature screenings and extensive related events in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of Tokyo from October 28 to November 6, 2024.
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Festival Chairman Ando Hiroyasu delivered opening remarks at the
conference, highlighting three major focuses of this year’s TIFF:
enhancing the festival’s international exchange initiatives, nurturing
talents for the industry’s future, and implementing programs to support
female empowerment. (Please see further remarks in the full press
release.)
TIFFCOM Managing Director Ikeda Kaori then discussed TIFFCOM
2024, TIFF’s affiliated marketplace, which will be hosting its 21st
edition from October 30 to November 1 at the Hamamatsuchokan Building, a
short ride from TIFF’s main venues. Ikeda highlighted TIFFCOM’s role in
helping propel the continuous growth of the industry, with programs that
focus on projects from their initial stages of development onward, as
well as the second Story Market, the fifth annual Tokyo Gap-Financing
Market, and a selection of films from Italy.
Internationally acclaimed Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, who will
serve as the President of the International Competition Jury at
the 37th TIFF, sent a message that was shared with the audience (see more
in the full press release). His fellow jurors will be Hungarian film
director and screenwriter Enyedi Ildikó, Japanese actor Hashimoto
Ai, French actor Chiara Mastroianni, and Hong Kong director
and producer Johnnie To.
The 37th TIFF Festival Navigator Kikuchi Rinko then took to the
stage, and shared her thoughts on serving in the role, noting that the
festival provides both filmmakers and audiences with the “rare and
precious opportunity” to meet one another and share the common language
of cinema. (See more in the full press release..)
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Following
an introduction to TIFF Opening Film 11 Rebels (by
Shiraishi Kazuya) and Closing Film Marcello Mio (by
Christophe Honoré), TIFF Programming Director Ichiyama Shozo shared
highlights of the festival’s ten sections, including the Competition,
Gala Selection, and others. The Competition includes 15 films*,
nine of them world premieres, selected from among 2,023 titles
from 110 countries and regions.
*See full release for the full
list of Competition titles.
Three Japanese directors whose work will receive world premieres in
Competition then joined Ichiyama on stage to make remarks about their
selection: Katayama Shinzo (Lust in the Rain), Ohku
Akiko (She Taught Me Serendipity) and Yoshida Daihachi
(Teki Cometh). (See the full press release for comments)
Senior Programmer Ishizaka Kenji appeared by video to introduce
the Asian Future section lineup and provide highlights of the 10
films from emerging filmmakers in Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Afghanistan,
China, Hong Kong and Japan, all of whom are receiving their world
premieres and will be eligible for awards. He noted that the tightly
curated selection features directors who are sure to become future
masters.
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 Ichiyama
then returned to introduce the Nippon Cinema Now section, which
will showcase 12 new and recent Japanese films, before inviting the
section’s Director in Focus, Irie Yu (A Girl Named Ann) on
stage to make remarks about the special program that will highlight five
of his works. Irie joked that he’d appeared at TIFF the first time
wearing a tracksuit (for the 2008 film 8000 Miles: SR Saitama's Rapper),
but he’d grown up and was now wearing a business suit.
A newly established section, Women’s Empowerment, focusing on
films directed by female filmmakers or on female-centric themes, will be
co-hosted with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government at TIFF 37. Senior
Programmer Andrijana Cvetkovikj gave an overview of the section’s
goals and themes. She noted, “I grew up in a world where a girl’s dream
of becoming a director was a far-fetched one; so I’m proud to be a part
of this transformation. With this program, we advocate for an inclusive
world where there is gender equality in cinema.”
Animation Programming Advisor Fujitsu Ryota provided an overview
of the Animation section, which includes internationally acclaimed
animated works as well as Japanese titles. It will feature seven recent
Japanese masterworks, as well as five films from overseas, including the
Annecy International Animation Film Festival award winning films, and a
50th anniversary screening of the influential Space Battleship Yamato,
which will also be the subject of one of the section’s three seminars.
*Please refer to TIFF’s official website for the full lineup of the
Animation section.
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For the
fifth year, TIFF and The Japan Foundation will be co-presenting the
popular TIFF Lounge talk sessions, featuring leading auteurs from
Asia and beyond. This year’s participants will include Johnnie To, Eric
Khoo and others. Among the many other event highlights will be a
masterclass with Hong Kong filmmaker and superstar Sammo Hung; a
Kering’s Women In Motion event; a Tarr Béla symposium entitled
“The Fukushima Hamadori Film, Art and Culture Project × Tokyo
International Film Festival 2024 — Fukushima Hamadori as Seen with Béla
Tarr;” and an Asian Film Student Exchange Program masterclass with Kurosawa
Kiyoshi.
The 37th TIFF will be held from October 28 to November 6, 2024 in
the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area and other venues in Tokyo.
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37th Tokyo
International Film Festival tiff-jp.net
Date: October 28 (Mon.) – November 6 (Wed.), 2024
Venues: Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area
Market: TIFFCOM 2024 tiffcom.jp
Date: October 30 (Wed.) – November 1 (Fri.), 2024
*All members of the press are required to have a Press Pass to cover
events during the 37th TIFF.
Please apply for the press pass at https://2024.tiff-jp.net/en/press/
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