The 34th Tokyo International Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 30 October to 8 November 2021. This was the first iteration of the festival in two years, as the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival due to be held in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic French actress Isabelle Huppert served as jury president. With Vera Dreams of the Sea winning the Tokyo Grand Prix, the festival's top prize, Kaltrina Krasniqi became the third female director to achieve the prize, after Caroline Link in 1997 and Lorraine Lévy in 2012.

The official poster for the festival was created by fashion designer Koshino Junko and is intended to represent the theme of "crossing borders" created by the COVID-19 pandemic, socioeconomic disparities, and international conflict.

The festival opened with Cry Macho directed by Clint Eastwood and closed with Dear Evan Hansen directed by Stephen Chbosky.

Juries

International Competition
 Isabelle Huppert, French actress
 Aoyama Shinji, Japanese writer-director
 Chris Fujiwara, American film critic
 Lorna Tee, Malaysian producer
 Hiroko Sebu, Japanese film score composer

Asian Future
 Han Yanli, Japanese professor at the University of Tokyo
 Hojo Masato, Japanese film distribution manager
 Ishii Yuya, Japanese director

Amazon Prime Video Take One
 Isao Yukisada, Japanese director
 Makiko Watanabe, Japanese actress
 Toshihiro Isomi, Japanese art director
 Andrijana Cvetkovik, Macedonian director and former ambassador of North Macedonia to Japan

Venues
The following 7 venues were hosted the festival screenings.

 Tokyo Midtown Hibiya
 Toho Cinemas Chanter
 Tokyo International Forum
 Yurakucho Yomiuri Hall
 Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho
 Humantrust Cinema Yurakucho
 Cine Switch Ginza

Official Selection

Competition
The following films were selected to compete for the Tokyo Grand Prix.

Asian Future
The following films were selected for the Asian Future section.

Gala Selection
The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Gala Selection.

World Focus
The following films were selected for the World Focus section, which focuses on international films.

Nippon Cinema Now
The following films were selected for Nippon Cinema Now, which aims to introduce Japanese films to international audiences.

Japanese Animation
The following films were selected for the Japanese Animation section.

Japanese Classics
The following films were selected for the Japanese Classics section.

Youth
The following films were selected for the Youth section.

TIFF Series
The following television series were selected for the TIFF Series section.

Awards

Competition
 Tokyo Grand Prix: Vera Dreams of the Sea by Kaltrina Krasniqi
 Special Jury Prize: La civil by Teodora Mihai
 Award for Best Director: Darezhan Omirbaev for Poet
 Award for Best Actress: Julia Chávez for The Other Tom
 Award for Best Actor: Amir Aghaei, Fatih Al, Barış Yıldız, and Onur Buldu for The Four Walls
 Award for Best Artistic Contribution: Crane Lantern by Hilal Baydarov
 Audience Award: Just Remembering by Matsui Daigo

Asian Future
 Asian Future Best Film Award: World, Northern Hemisphere by Hossein Tehrani

Amazon Prime Video Take One
 Amazon Prime Video Take One Award: Sunday & Calm sea by Yunsoo Kim
 Amazon Prime Video Take One Award Special Jury Prize: Midori Sangoumi for Under the Bridge

References

Tokyo
2021 festivals in Asia