# 36th Tokyo International Film Festival

The 36th Tokyo International Film Festival is film festival that took place from October 23 to November 1, 2023. German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president.
The official poster for the festival was created by fashion designer Koshino Junko and features actor and filmmaker Eiji Okuda alongside his daughter, director Momoko Ando and pays homage to Yasujirō Ozu's film Tokyo Story on the 120th anniversary of his birth. The festival organisers plans to honour Ozu and showcase his films throughout the festival.
The festival opened with Wim Wenders' Perfect Days and closed with Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One.

## Juries

The juries consists of the following members:

### Main competition

* Wim Wenders, German filmmaker, writer and photographer – Jury president
* Albert Serra, Spanish director
* Kunizane Mizue, Japanese producer
* Trần Thị Bích Ngọc, Vietnamese producer
* Zhao Tao, Chinese actress and producer

### Asian Future

* Markus Nornes, American Professor of Asian Cinema at University of Michigan – Jury president
* Raymond Red, Filipino director
* Takei Miyuki, Japansese President of Film Distribution Company MOVIOLA

## Venues

The following 8 venues will host the festival screenings.
* Marunouchi TOEI
* Marunouchi Piccadilly
* Hulic Hall Tokyo
* Tokyo Midtown Hibiya
* Toho Cinemas Chanter
* Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho
* Humantrust Cinema Yurakucho
* Cine Switch Ginza

## Official Selection
### Competition

The following films were selected to compete for the Tokyo Grand Prix.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| (Ab)normal Desire | 正欲 | Kishi Yoshiyuki | Japan |
| Air | ВОЗДУХ | Alexey German Jr. | Russia |
| Blind at Heart | Die Mittagsfrau | Barbara Albert | Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg |
| Dwelling by the West Lake | 草木人间 | Gu Xiaogang | China |
| A Foggy Paradise | 曖昧な楽園 | Kotsuji Yohei | Japan |
| Gondola | Gondola | Veit Helmer | Germany, Georgia |
| The Gospel of the Beast | The Gospel of the Beast | Sheron Dayoc | Philippines |
| A Long Shot | 老枪 | Gao Peng | China |
| The Persian Version | The Persian Version | Maryam Keshavarz | United States |
| Roxana | Roxana | Parviz Shahbazi | Iran |
| Sermon to the Birds | Quşlara Xütbə | Hilal Baydarov | Azerbaijan |
| The Settlers | Los colonos | Felipe Gálvez | Chile, Argentina, Netherlands |
| Snow Leopard | 雪豹 | Pema Tseden | China |
| Tatami | Tatami | Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi | Georgia, United States |
| Who Were We? | わたくしどもは | Tomina Tetsuya | Japan |

### Asian Future

The following films were selected to compete in the Asian Future section, which features films from Asian directors who have directed a maximum of three feature films.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Fly Me to the Moon | 但願人長久 | Sasha Chuk | Hong Kong |
| La Luna | La Luna | M. Raihan Halim | Singapore, Malaysia |
| Madina | Мадина | Aizhan Kassymbek | Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India |
| Maria | Maria | Mahdi Asghari Azghadi | Iran |
| Real State | Real State | Anat Malz | Israel |
| Redlife | เรดไลฟ์ | Ekalak Klunson | Thailand |
| Rosinante | Balık Kırgını | Baran Gunduzalp | Turkey |
| Sumo Didi | Sumo Didi | Jayant Rohatgi | India |
| Take Me to Another Planet | 違う惑星の変な恋人 | Kimura Satoshi | Japan |
| Tatsumi | Tatsumi | Shoji Hiroshi | Japan |

### Gala Selection

The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Gala Selection.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| All of Us Strangers | All of Us Strangers | Andrew Haigh | United Kingdom |
| The Exorcist: Believer | The Exorcist: Believer | David Gordon Green | United States |
| Full River Red | 满江红 | Zhang Yimou | China |
| Gold Boy | 黄金少年 | Shusuke Kaneko | Japan |
| Green Night | Green Night | Han Shuai | Hong Kong |
| Kidnapped | Rapito | Marco Bellocchio | Italy, France, Germany |
| Kubi | 首 | Takeshi Kitano | Japan |
| Lumberjack the Monster | Lumberjack the Monster | Takashi Miike | Japan |
| The Movie Emperor | 红毯先生 | Ning Hao | China |
| My (K)Night | My (K)Night | Nakagawa Ryutaro | Japan |
| Next Goal Wins | Next Goal Wins | Taika Waititi | United States |
| Poor Things | Poor Things | Yorgos Lanthimos | United Kingdom |
| The Pot-au-Feu | La Passion de Dodin Bouffant | Trần Anh Hùng | France |
| Shadow of Fire | ほかげ | Tsukamoto Shinya | Japan |

### World Focus

The following films were selected for the World Focus section, which focuses on international films.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| All Ears | 不虚此行 | Liu Jiayin | China |
| Anselm / Somebody Comes into the Light | Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit / Somebody Comes into the Light | Wim Wenders | Germany, Japan |
| Dante | Dante | Pupi Avati | Italy |
| Essential Truths of the Lake | Essential Truths of the Lake | Lav Diaz | Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom |
| The Fisher | The Fisher | Paul Soriano | Philippines |
| Love Is a Gun | 愛是一把槍 | Lee Hong-chi | Hong Kong, Taiwan |
| May | 梅的白天和黑夜 | Luo Dong | China |
| Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | Frederick Wiseman | France, United States |
| Music | Music | Angela Schanelec | Germany, France, Serbia |
| Passages | Passages | Ira Sachs | France |
| 20th Latin Beat Film Festival in TIFF ||||
| The Delinquents | Los delincuentes | Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina, Brazil, Luxembourg, Chile |
| Sorcery | Brujería | Christopher Murray | Chile, Mexico, Germany |
| Strange Way of Life | Extraña forma de vida | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain, France |
| Tótem | Tótem | Lila Avilés | Mexico, Denmark, France |
| Un amor | Un amor | Isabel Coixet | Spain |
| Taiwan Cinema Renaissance 2023 ||||
| After School | 成功補習班 | Blue Lan | Taiwan |
| Miss Shampoo | 請問，還有哪裡需要加強 | Giddens Ko | Taiwan |
| Old Fox | 老狐狸 | Hsiao Ya-chuan | Taiwan |
| Who'll Stop the Rain | 青春並不溫柔 | Su I-Hsuan | Taiwan |
| Asian Cinerama - Hong Kong Focus ||||
| Tony Leung <Masterclass> / 2046 | Tony Leung <Masterclass> / 2046 | Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong |
| In Broad Daylight | 白日之下 | Lawrence Kan | Hong Kong |
| Time Still Turns the Pages | 年少日記 | Nick Cheuk | Hong Kong |
| Vital Signs | 送院途中 | Cheuk Wan-chi | Hong Kong |
| Nomad (4K Restored Director's Cut) | 烈火青春 | Patrick Tam | Hong Kong |
| Special Program: The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Franco Zeffirelli ||||
| La Traviata (Digitally Remastered Version) | La Traviata (Digitally Remastered Version) | Franco Zeffirelli | Italy |
| Sparrow (Restored Version) | Storia di una capinera | Franco Zeffirelli | Italy, Japan |
| Callas Forever (Digitally Remastered Version) | Callas Forever (Digitally Remastered Version) | Franco Zeffirelli | Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Romania |
| Special Spotlight: Basque Cinema ||||
| 20,000 Species of Bees | 20.000 especies de abejas | Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren | Spain |
| A Deep Breath, Women Filmmakers | Arnasa Betean | Berha Gaztelumendi, Rosa Zufia | Spain |
| In the Company of Women | Las buenas compañías | Silvia Munt | Spain |
| The Rye Horn | O corno | Jaione Camborda | Spain, Portugal, Belgium |
| Sultana's Dream | El sueño de la Sultana | Isabel Herguera | Spain, Germany |

### Youth

The following films were selected for the Youth section.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Phantom Youth | Bota Jonë | Luàna Bajrami | Kosovo, France |
| Power Alley | Levante | Lillah Halla | Brazil, France, Uruguay |
| A Song Sung Blue | 小白船 | Geng Zihan | China |

### Nippon Cinema Now

The following films were selected for Nippon Cinema Now, which aims to introduce previously released Japanese films to international audiences.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Ichiko | 市子 | Toda Akihiro | Japan |
| Family | Family | Sawa Kan | Japan |
| Following the Sound | 彼方のうた | Sugita Kyoshi | Japan |
| 99% Cloudy... Always | 99%、いつも曇り | Sangoumi Midori | Japan |
| The Making of a Japanese | 小学校～それは小さな社会 | Ema Ryan Yamazaki | Japan, United States, Finland, France |
| Keep Your Left Hand Down | 左手に気をつけろ | Nami Iguchi | Japan |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus | Sora Neo | Japan |
| Twilight Cinema Blues | 銀平町シネマブルース | Hideo Jojo | Japan |
| Believers | ビリーバーズ | Hideo Jojo | Japan |
| Love Nonetheless | 愛なのに | Hideo Jojo | Japan |
| On The Edge of Their Seats | アルプススタンドのはしの方 | Hideo Jojo | Japan |

### Animation

The following films were selected for the Animation section.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Art College 1994 | 艺术学院 | Liu Juan | China |
| Blue Giant | Blue Giant | Yuzuru Tachikawa | Japan |
| Chicken for Linda! | Linda veut du poulet! | Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach | France, Italy |
| The Concierge | 北極百貨店のコンシェルジュさん | Yoshimi Itazu | Japan |
| Deep Sea | 深海 | Tian Xiaopeng | China |
| Komada - A Whisky Family | 駒田蒸留所へようこそ | Yoshihara Masayuki | Japan |
| Lonely Castle in the Mirror | かがみの孤城 | Keiichi Hara | Japan |
| Robot Dreams | Robot Dreams | Pablo Berger | Spain, France |
| Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light | Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo | Filip Pošivač | Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary |
| In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World | この世界の（さらにいくつもの）片隅に | Sunao Katabuchi | Japan |
| Lu Over the Wall | 夜明け告げるルーのうた | Masaaki Yuasa | Japan |
| On-Gaku: Our Sound | 音楽 | Kenji Iwaisawa | Japan |

### Japanese Classics

The following films were selected for the Japanese Classics section.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| The Great White Tower (4K Digitally Restored Version) (1966) | 白い巨塔 | Satsuo Yamamoto | Japan |
| A Band of Assassins (1962) | 忍びの者 | Satsuo Yamamoto | Japan |
| Orochi (1925) | 雄呂血 | Buntarō Futagawa | Japan |

### TIFF Series

The following television series were selected for the TIFF Series section.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Ozu (episodes 1 - 3) | Ozu (episodes 1 - 3) | Hideo Jojo, Matsumoto Yusaku | Japan |
| Why Try to Change Me Now | 平原上的摩西 | Zhang Dalei | China |

### Shoulders of Giants

The following fifteen films (all with their 4K digitally restored version) were selected for the "Shoulders of Giants" section, destined to honor the 120th Anniversary of Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Dragnet Girl (1933) | 非常線の女 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| I Was Born, But... (1932) | 大人の見る絵本　生れてはみたけれど | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| There Was a Father (1942) | 父ありき | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947) | 長屋紳士録 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| A Hen in the Wind (1948) | 風の中の牝鶏 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| The Munekata Sisters (1950) | 宗方姉妹 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| The End of Summer (1961) | 小早川家の秋 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Late Spring (1949) | 晩春 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Early Summer (1951) | 麦秋 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Tokyo Story (1953) | 東京物語 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Tokyo Twilight (1957) | 東京暮色 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Equinox Flower (1958) | 彼岸花 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Floating Weeds (1959) | 浮草 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| Late Autumn (1960) | 秋日和 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |
| An Autumn Afternoon (1962) | 秋刀魚の味 | Yasujirō Ozu | Japan |

### Akira Kurosawa's Favorite Films

The following films were screened as a part of a section consisting of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa favorite films.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| City Lights (1931) | City Lights (1931) | Charlie Chaplin | United States |
| The Lower Depths (1936) | Les Bas-fonds | Jean Renoir | France |
| The Quiet Man (1952) | The Quiet Man (1952) | John Ford | United States |
| The 400 Blows (1959) | Les quatre cents coups | François Truffaut | France |
| Throne of Blood (1957) | 蜘蛛巣城 | Akira Kurosawa | Japan |

## Awards

The following awards were presented for the 36th edition:
* Tokyo Grand Prix: Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden
* Special Jury Prize: Tatami by Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
* Best Director: Kishi Yoshiyuki for (Ab)normal Desire
* Best Actor: Yasna Mirtahmasb for Roxana
* Best Actress: Zar Amir Ebrahimi for Tatami
* Best Artistic Confibution: A Long Shot by Gao Peng
* Audience Award: (Ab)normal Desire by Kishi Yoshiyuki
* Asian Future Best Film Award: Maria by Mahdi Asghari Azghadi
* Amazon Prime Video Take One Award: Gone with the Wind by Yang Liping
* Amazon Prime Video Take One Award Special Jury Prize: Be Prepared by Yasumura Emi
* Kurosawa Akira Award:
** Gu Xiaogang
** Mouly Surya