The Tokyo International Film Festival is expanding its commitment to emerging talent with the launch of a new showcase section, Asian Students’ Film Conference, featuring 15 under-60-minute films from film schools across Asia.
With support from Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the competition showcases live-action and animated works that “redefine the conventional image of student films,” according to festival organizers. The selected titles include works that have been awarded at Cannes and other major festivals, offering what TIFF describes as “fresh perspective and novel insights” from diverse countries that “vividly capture contemporary societal and cultural landscapes.”
Leading the lineup are works from Taiwan, China and Japan, including “Ready! Serve! Smash!” from Taiwan’s Wang Hao-tai (National Taiwan University of Arts), “Bowl Meets Girl” by Japan’s Seki Shunta (Nihon University College of Art), “Hallelujah I’m Alive” from Shanghai’s Hou Zhuyuan (Shanghai Film Academy), “Jumah” from China’s Liu Qinglin and Ye Hanling (Communication University of China), and “The Melancholy of a Brass Player for Brass Quintet” by Japan’s Furuya Daichi (Nihon University College of Art).
The Korean Academy of Film Arts contributes multiple entries to the selection with “Floating” by Lee Ji-yun, “Reviving the Engine” by Jung Hye-in, “Backpike” by Kim Eun-seo, and “Indigestion” by Han Hyeon-ji. Additional works from China and Japan include “12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony” by China’s Qu Zhizheng (Beijing Film Academy), “side” by Japan’s Endo Arisa (Tokyo Zokei University), and “August in Blue” by Japan’s Ehara Henry (Tokyo University of the Arts).
Rounding out the program are “Forever and a Day” by Taiwan’s Chen Li-Hsuan (National Taiwan University of Arts), “Round Table Dilemma” by China’s Xiao Hanzhi (Beijing Film Academy), and “Bun Thang” by Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Minh Khue (Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema).
The announcement comes alongside TIFF’s naming of Ikeda Elaiza as jury president for the Ethical Film Award, launched in 2023 in partnership with Sumitomo Corporation. The award aims to raise awareness of social issues including environment, poverty and discrimination through film. Ikedacelebrated for acting, directing and musical performances, will be joined on the jury by three members of the TIFF Student PR team: Uozumi Soichiro from Keio University, Sudo Rimi from Dokkyo University, and Tsumura Yuka from Toyo University.
TIFF also unveiled its centerpiece and closing films, along with a robust gala selection. Yamada Yoji’s “Tokyo Taxi,” his 91st feature film, will serve as the festival’s centerpiece. The adaptation of the 2022 French film “Driving Madeleine” stars Baisho Chieko and Kimura Takuya in a story about an unlikely connection between an elderly woman and her taxi driver.
Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about the story behind Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” will close the festival. The film stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal and won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The gala selection includes Ari Aster’s “Eddington” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone; Scott Cooper’s Bruce Springsteen biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” with Jeremy Allen White; and Peter Ho-sun Chan’s “She Has No Name” featuring Zhang Ziyi.
The festival is also launching TIFF Teens Cine Club as part of its Youth section, welcoming Japanese actor Ikematsu Sosuke as a club member. He will join junior high school students participating in TIFF 2025: Teens Meet Cinema to watch and discuss films from the festival’s Youth section.
Running concurrent with TIFF, the content market TIFFCOM is spotlighting Japanese intellectual property with a keynote from Tetsu Fujimura, executive producer of Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” series. His seminar, “The Future of Japanese Intellectual Property in Global Adaptations,” will explore the growing international appetite for Japanese content.
Tiffcom is also rebranding its “Tokyo Story Market” as “Tokyo IP Market: Adaptation & Remake,” expanding to include visual content production companies alongside publishers. Participating companies include Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shufu To Seikatsu Sha, Square Enix, Toei, and Nihonbungeisha.
The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival runs Oct. 27-Nov. 5, in Tokyo’s Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area. TIFFCOM takes place Oct. 29-31 at Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho-kan.
AloJapan.com