# Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival

The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭, Yūbari kokusai fantasutikku eiga sai), also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival.

## History

In 1990, the last coal mine in the Hokkaidō mining town of Yūbari having closed, the city leaders were looking for a way to revitalize the local economy. This was the beginning of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. The festival was divided into two main programs, a prestigious international competition for young directors, and an Off Theatre program for mostly Japanese amateur, independent and first-time directors. The first year in 1990 had as a special guest, actor Jon Voight and his daughter, a young starlet named Angelina Jolie. In 1993, Quentin Tarantino was at the festival and wrote part of the screenplay for Pulp Fiction in his hotel room. Some years later, he paid homage to the town in the name of a character in Kill Bill: Volume 1, "Gogo Yubari". In 1996 the festival also had special guest stars, comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. In 2004 the festival drew a record audience of 27,000.
The festival had always been sponsored financially by the city of Yubari but the town filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and that year's festival had to be cancelled. However, the people of Yubari with the assistance of a number of sponsors were able to group together to revive the festival in 2008. The international competition section of the festival had to be dropped but the Off Theatre program for young Japanese directors was retained with the Grand Prize bringing 2 million yen (about $20,000) to the winner. The new Governor's Award was presented by the Governor of Hokkaidō. In addition to the competition section, the festival continued to screen a number of international films by promising directors. One of the sponsors for the festival is the giant Japanese satellite broadcasting company SKYPerfecTV! which has also broadcast parts of the program. The scaled down 2008 festival drew more than 8,800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009.
The 32nd edition of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival will be held from July 28 to August 1 2022.
A new scholarship system will be established in 2023 (unilaterally "abolished" on the official website on November 22, 2024).
In 2024, Yubari Fanta, the NPO that had been in charge of the operation, announced that it would suspend its activities due to the issue of unpaid prize money from before 2023 coming to light, and the ``Yubari Volunteer Association said that Kei Nakata would be the representative. hosts a film festival. The event will be held at two geographically separated venues: Hostel Himawari in Yubari City and Hotel Paradise Hills in Kuriyama Onsen, Kuriyama Town. Yubari City Hall has decided not to accept requests for sponsorship (nominal sponsorship) for the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and has notified the organizers of the event, failing to provide an overall picture of the project and unclear who is the representative of the organization, including past achievements and responsibilities. It did not meet the city's standards in terms of structure and other aspects.
Many problems arose during the session. Film producer Maki Tsuchida, who was one of the final judges, passed away suddenly at the Kuriyama Onsen Hotel Paradise Hills in the early hours of December 25th, and the fact is being kept secret. Subtitles will not be added to foreign films. Trouble arises regarding accommodation expense assistance, non-payment of illustration orders, etc. In addition, sloppy financial management and operations were revealed.

## Major awards

Award information from:

### 1990 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1990.
* Grand Prize
    Ofelas – Director: Nils Gaup
* Special Prize
    Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds – Director: Alex Proyas
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Takeshita Performance Higei Mito-Komon – Director: Sinya Takesita
* Special Prize
    Gig – Director: Kosuke Ienaga
* Toroma Prize
    Meilin Adventure – Director: Satoshi Imai

### 1991 Awards

Held February 15–19, 1991.
* Grand Prize
    The Miracle in Valby (Miraklet i Valby) – Director: Åke Sandgren
* Special Jury Prize
    Windwalker – Director: Kieth Merrill
* Critic's Award
    Miller's Crossing – Director: Joel Coen
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Death Express – Director: Hiroyuki Terada
* Jury Prize
    Rice Game – Director: Hideaki Kobayashi

### 1992 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1992.
* Grand Prize
    The Swordsman in Double Flag Town – Director: He Ping
* Special Jury Prize
    A Demon in My View [fr] – Director: Petra Haffter [de]
* Critic's Award
    Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Diamonds Moon – Director: Akira Nobi
* Jury Prize
    Kappas – Director: Katsuya Ohsawa

### 1993 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1993.
* Grand Prize
    Children of Nature – Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
* Special Jury Prize
    Winds of God – Director: Yoko Narahashi
* Critic's Award
    Reservoir Dogs – Director: Quentin Tarantino
* Citizen's Award
    Ninja Scroll – Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Trash – Director: Naoki Kubo
* Jury Prize
    My Daddy Long Legs – Director: Shin Yasuhara

### 1994 Awards

Held February 18–22, 1994.
* Grand Prize
    Killing Zoe – Director: Roger Roberts Avary
* Special Jury Prize
    C'est arrive pres de chez vous – Director: Rémy Belvaux & André Bonzel
* Minami Toshiko Award / Critic's Award
    Carne – Director: Gaspar Noé
* The Most Entertaining Award
    El Mariachi – Director: Robert Rodriguez
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Family Time – Director: Ryota Kawaguchi
* Jury Prize
    My Favorite "Skyline" – Director: Shin Yasuhara
    Vending Machine and a Girl – Director: Kiyohide Otani

### 1995 Awards

Held February 17–21, 1995.
* Grand Prize
    Tombés du ciel – Director: Philippe Lioret
* Special Jury Prize
    The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb – Director: Dave Borthwick
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Wizard of Darkness – Director: Shimako Sato
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    The Incredible Haniwa Man – Director: Shin Yasuhara
* Jury Prize
    Anatomia Extinction – Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
    A Room Without Wind – Director: Ryuta Miyake

### 1996 Awards

Held February 18–20, 1996.
* Grand Prize
    Accumulator 1 – Director: Jan Svěrák
* Special Jury Prize
    Manneken Pis – Director: Frank Van Passel
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Secret Waltz – Director: Akira Nobi
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Brain Holiday – Director: Hineki Mito
* Jury Prize
    Blood Red Girls – Director: Daisuke Yamanouchi
* Encouragement Prize
    Rest Room – Director: Muneyoshi Murakami
    To Be or Not to Be – Director: Tomoko Matsunashi

### 1997 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1997.
* Grand Prize
    Closing Time – Director: Masahiro Kobayashi
* Special Jury Prize
    Little Sister – Director: Robert Jan Westdijk
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Drive – Director: Steve Wang
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Party – Director: Mayumi Uchiumi
* Jury Prize
    L&D – Director: Hideki Kimura

### 1998 Awards

Held February 13–17, 1998.
* Grand Prize
    Bernie – Director: Albert Dupontel
* Jean-Hugues Anglade Award
    Detective Riko – Director: Satoshi Isaka
* Adventure Film Prize
    The Ground – Director: Atsushi Muroga
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Illtown – Director: Nick Gomez
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Midnight Three – Director: Yasushi Koshizaka
* Special Jury Prize
    Variation for Movements – Director: Yoshinao Sato
* Encouragement Prize
    Kurushime Girl – Director: Noboru Iguchi

### 1999 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1999.
* Grand Prize
    Bandits – Director: Katja von Garnier
* Special Jury Prize / Minami Toshiko Award
    Moonlight Whispers – Director: Akihiko Shiota
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Tel-Club – Director: Kenji Murakami
* Special Jury Prize
    Kiadoryoku REAL – Director: Katsushi Boda

### 2000 Awards

Held February 18–22, 2000.
* Grand Prize
    Across a Gold Prairie – Director: Isshin Inudou
* Special Jury Prize
    Pups – Director: Ash
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Jin-Roh – Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Hazy Life – Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
* Special Jury Prize
    Let's Go Strawberry Girl – Director: Shinobu Kuribayashi

### 2001 Awards

Held February 15–19, 2001.
* Grand Prize
    New Year's Day – Director: Suri Krishnamma
* Special Jury Prize
    Animals – Director: Michael Di Jiacomo
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Siam Sunset – Director: John Polson
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Tokyo A Go Go – Director: Ryuichi Honda
* Special Jury Prize
    L'Ilya – Director: Tomoya Sato

### 2002 Awards

Held February 14–18, 2002.
* Grand Prize
    My Sassy Girl – Director: Kwak Jae-yong
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Run! Yamazaki! Run! – Director: Naoko Johnori
* Special Jury Prize
    Nuts – Director: Yoko Chukira / Tomokazu / Shu Kageyama

### 2003 Awards

Held February 13–17, 2003.
* Grand Prize
    Battlefield Baseball (Jigoku Koushien) – Director: Yūdai Yamaguchi
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Bijo-can – Director: Masaya Kakei
* Special Jury Prize
    Ski Jumping Pairs – Director: Riichiro Mashima

### 2004 Awards

Held February 19–23, 2004.
* Grand Prize
    Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise – Director: Kim Ji-hoon
* Special Jury Prize
    Robot Stories – Director: Greg Pak
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Better Than Sex – Director: Su Chao-pin & Lee Feng-bor
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    The Far East Apartment – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
* Special Jury Prize
    Utsu-musume SAYURI – Director: Takashi Kimura

### 2005 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2005.
* Grand Prize
    My Mother, the Mermaid – Director: Park Heung-sik
* Special Jury Prize
    Innocence – Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
* Minami Toshiko Award
    The Neighbor No. Thirteen – Director: Yasuo Inoue
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Mariko's 30 Pirates – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
* Special Jury Prize
    Be the World for Her – Director: Daisuke Hosaka

### 2006 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2006.
* Grand Prize
    Blood Rain – Director: Kim Dae-seung
* Special Jury Prize
    Never Belongs to Me – Director: Nam Ki-woong
* Minami Toshiko Award
    Citizen Dog – Director: Wisit Sasanatieng
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Raw Summer (Nama-natsu) – Director: Keisuke Yoshida
* Special Jury Prize
    Hakko – Director: Madoka Kumagai

### 2007 Awards

No awards - festival cancelled.

### 2008 Awards

Held March 19–23, 2008.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    A Woman Who Is Beating the Earth (大地を叩く女, Daichi o tataku onna) – Director: Tsuki Inoue
* Special Jury Prize
    Coming with My Brother (お姉ちゃん、弟といく, One-chan, otōto to iku) – Director: Kouta Yoshida
* Governor's Award
    Seikilos and I (セイキロスさんとわたしく, Seikilos-san to Watashi) – Director: Kenji Itoso & Hiroshi Kamebuchi

### 2009 Awards

Held February 26-March 2, 2009.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    8000 Miles (SR サイタマノラッパー, SR: Saitama no rappā) – Director: Yū Irie
* Special Jury Prize
    Big Gun (大拳銃, Dai kenjū) – Director: Ōhata Hajime
* Governor's Award
    Night Games (夜のゲーム, Yoru no geemu) – Director: Choi Uian (チェ・ウィアン)

### 2010 Awards

Held February 25-March 1, 2010.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Hot as Hell: The Deadbeat March (青春墓場～明日と一緒に歩くのだ～, Seishun Hakaba Ashita to Issho ni Aruku no da) – Director: Yōsuke Okuda
* Special Jury Prize
    Footed Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno
* Governor's Award
    Wall (壁, Kabe) – Director: ヒョン・スルウ
* Cinegar Award
    Footed Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno

### 2011 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2011.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Invasion of Alien Bikini (겨울냄새) – Director: Oh Young-Doo
* Special Jury Prize
    Pink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa
* Governor's Award
    Violence PM (バイオレンスPM, Baiorensu PM) – Director: Takayuki Ishihara
* Cinegar Award
    Pink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa

### 2012 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2012 with a total attendance at 12,500.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Osaka Violence (大阪外道, Ōsaka gedō) – Director: Takahiro Ishihara
* Special Jury Prize
    The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki
* Governor's Award
    The Beatles (ビートルズ, Bītoruzu) – Director: Yuichiro Sakashita
* Cinegar Award
    The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki
* Best Actress
    Nahana for Toilet and Women (どんずまり便器, Donzumari Benki)
* Best Actor
    Hiroki Konno for The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku)
* Audience Award
    Ultraman Saga (ウルトラマンサーガ, Urutoramansāga) - Director: Hideki Oka
* Event Award
    Namba Kinyu-den Minami no Teio Toichi no Manda Ginjiro - Director: Takaaki Haginiwa
* Public Award
    Puss in Boots (長ぐつをはいたネコ, Nagagutsu o Haita Neko)
* Public People Award
    The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki

### 2013 Awards

Held February 21–25, 2013. Attendance was about 12,500.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda
* Special Jury Prize
    A Case of Eggs - Director: Yuri Kanchiku
* Governor's Award
    Winter Alpaca - Director: Yuji Harada
* Cinegar Award
    There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda

### 2014 Awards

Announced March 2, 2014
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba
* Special Jury Prize
    Gun Woman - Director: Mitsutake Kurando
* Governor's Award
    School Girls' Gestation - Director: Ueda Atsushi
* Cinegar Award
    The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba
* Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award
    Old Men Never Die - Director: Wang Cheol-min (South Korea)

### 2015 Awards

Announced on February 24, 2015
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
* Grand Prize
    Makeup Room - Director: Kei Morikawa
* Special Jury Prize
    The Limit of Sleeping Beauty - Director: Ninomiya Ken
* Governor's Award
    Haman - Director: Tetsuya Okabe
* Cinegar Award
    Mizo - Director: Nam Ki Woong (South Korea)
* Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award
    Luv ya Hun! - Director: Daigo Matsui