37th Tokyo International Film Festival

The 37th Tokyo International Film Festival took place from 28 October to 6 November. This edition, introduced a new 'Women's Empowerment' section and showcased the works of director Yu Irie, a Japanese film director and screenwriter in its 'Nippon Cinema Now' strand. Hong Kong actor and singer Tony Leung served as jury president.
The festival opened with Japanese samurai, period action film 11 Rebels by Kazuya Shiraishi, and a unique mix of video, music, and dance, featuring performances by Sarah Àlainn, Leo, KAF, Oi Kazuya, and dancers Ikeda Mika and Suzuki Yohei. A video introduction followed, showcasing the lineup and upcoming awards, with KAF acting as master of ceremonies alongside Leo and Oi.
Béla Tarr a Hungarian filmmaker, was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award during a Special Talk event at the festival, held on November 1.
The festival closed on 6 November with Marcello Mio, a comedy film directed by French director and writer Christophe Honoré and starring French actresses Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. It screened 208 films, with 61,576 admissions and another 96,866 people attending related events. Teki Cometh a Japanese film by Daihachi Yoshida was awarded Tokyo Grand Prix award.
The film registration for the festival began in April 2024 with the closing date for submission fixed for July 8, 2024.
The official poster for the festival was created by fashion designer Koshino Junko, who has designed TIFF's visuals since 2021 and features Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi. She has also been appointed this year's festival navigator. She will "navigate" the audience at official events as the face of the festival.
A new section 'Women's Empowerment' was introduced this year, which will highlight features made by female directors as well as female-focused films. Andrijana Cvetkovik [ja], a film director and former Macedonian ambassador to Japan will serve as the Women's Empowerment senior programmer and select seven new films to be showcased as the main feature. In addition, a symposium and special screening with talk session focusing on related themes will also be held.
On 11 September 2024, opening and closing films of the festival were announced. On 20 September Gala Selection and trailer with festival Song was unveiled. The full lineup was announced on 25 September 2024, lining up 110 films for showcasing in the festival.
The juries consists of the following members:
The opening ceremony took place at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater on 28 October, with a distinctive blend of video, music, and dance, highlighting performances by vocalist-violinist Sarah Àlainn, koto player Leo, virtual singer KAF, drummer Oi Kazuya, and dancers Ikeda Mika and Suzuki Yohei. A video introduction followed, presenting the festival's lineup and upcoming awards, with KAF serving as the emcee alongside Leo and Oi. The closing ceremony was held at Toho Cinemas Hibiya on 6 November. It opened with a video showcasing festival highlights, featuring clips and snapshots from indoor and outdoor stage events, Question & Answer sessions, masterclasses, symposia, and TIFF Lounge discussions. Awards were then announced, concluding with the Tokyo Grand Prix, which went to Daihachi Yoshida’s Teki Cometh, accompanied by a prize of ¥3 million.
The following 8 venues will host the festival screenings.
The festival from this year will consist of ten main sections.
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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.
The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Gala Selection.
The following films were selected for the World Focus section, which focuses on international films.
The following films were selected for Nippon Cinema Now, which will showcase the works of director Yu Irie, a Japanese film director and screenwriter.
The following films were selected for the Animation section.
The following films were selected for the Japanese Classics section.
The following films were selected for the Youth section.
The following television series were selected for the TIFF Series section.
The following films were screened as a part of new section introduced this year selected by Andrijana Cvetkovikj [ja], a film director and former Macedonian ambassador to Japan.
A special screening of six works of Searchlight Pictures to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024 will be screened.
The following films were screened as a part of a section consisting of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa favorite films.
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