Tokyo International Film Festival

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today unveiled the full lineup and other highlights of its 35th edition in a press conference held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, one of the festival’s main venues.

The 35th TIFF will feature physical screenings and a variety of related events in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of Tokyo, from October 24 to November 2, 2022. For the first time in three years, the 10-day festival will open with a Red Carpet event.

Festival Chairman ANDO Hiroyasu delivered opening remarks at the conference, outlining several enhancements that are being made to this year’s post-pandemic edition, including an expansion of venues that has enabled an increase in the number of films being shown, enhanced collaborations with local businesses, and new ventures to accommodate a larger number of overseas visitors. (Please see further remarks in the full press release)

TIFFCOM Managing Director KURIHASHI Mikiya then discussed TIFFCOM 2022, the affiliated marketplace for film and TV, which will run online during TIFF, from October 25 to 27. Along with hosting a record number of exhibitors, TIFFCOM will feature an expansive lineup of talks and webinars, and the Gap Financing program.

Renowned theater, opera, and film director Julie Taymor, who will serve as the President of the International Competition Jury at the 35th TIFF, sent a message that was shared with the audience (see full press release for her message). Her fellow jurors will be cinematographer YANAGIJIMA Katsumi, actor Shim Eun-kyung, director João Pedro Rodrigues and Former Director of the Institut Français du Japon Marie-Christine de Navacelle.

The 35th TIFF Festival Ambassador HASHIMOTO Ai then took to the stage and shared her thoughts on serving in the position for the second year, and on the important role cinema plays internationally (see her full quote in the press release).

Following an introduction of TIFF Opening Film Fragments of the Last Will (by director ZEZE Takahisa) and Closing Film Living (by director Oliver Hermanus), TIFF Programming Director ICHIYAMA Shozo greeted the audience and shared highlights of the Competition, Gala Selection, and other sections. The Competition section includes 15 films*, eight of them world premieres, selected from among 1,695 titles from 107 countries and regions.
*Please click the button for the full list of Competition titles.

Three Japanese directors whose work will be in the Competition section then appeared to make remarks about their selection: IMAIZUMI Rikiya (by the window), FUKUNAGA Takeshi (Mountain Woman), and MATSUNAGA Daishi (Egoist). (See the full release for comments.)

Senior Programmer ISHIZAKA Kenji introduced the Asian Future section lineup and provided highlights of the 10 films from emerging filmmakers in Israel, Iran, Turkey, China, India, and Japan, all of whom will be eligible for awards. He noted that many current films are expressing tumultuous situations, wide-ranging minority issues, and the consideration of what is happiness for humankind.

Japanese Animation Programming Advisor FUJITSU Ryota provided an overview of the section, which will focus on Creating Worlds with Animation. It will feature three recent Japanese animation works, as well as four films in a retrospective section called Animation and Tokyo, looking at how the city has been depicted in animated works. There will also be seminar events, which will be available on streaming. *Please refer to TIFF’s official website for the full lineup of the Japanese Animation section.