As a film enthusiast with a penchant for diverse storytelling, I find myself utterly captivated by the eclectic lineup of the 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival. Having traversed the globe through countless films, my eyes have feasted on tales of love, loss, and the human spirit’s indomitability. This year’s festival promises to be a veritable smorgasbord of such narratives, hailing from the farthest corners of the world.
On Wednesday, the Tokyo International Film Festival unveiled its complete 2024 schedule, featuring its principal competition program and the Asian Future area dedicated to up-and-coming filmmakers from the region, in addition to a brand-new section called Women’s Empowerment. This section showcases nine movies that are either directed by women or tell stories centered around women.
The main competition of Tokyo, featuring 15 films, showcases a tendency towards screening new releases rather than titles that have previously been shown at renowned festivals. In this section, there are eight world premieres, such as “Big World” and “My Friend An Delie” by Chinese directors Yang Lina and Dong Zijian; “Papa” from Hong Kong’s Philip Yung; “The Englishman’s Papers” from Portugal’s Sergio Graciano; and several Japanese productions, to name a few (for the complete list, see below). Other noteworthy entries include the international debut of Midi Z’s “The Unseen Sister” and Huang Xi’s latest film “Daughter’s Daughter”, which starred Sylvia Chang and was recently screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
Previously stated, the competition’s titles will be evaluated by a panel headed by renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Accompanying him on this panel are other esteemed professionals: Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, Italian actress Chiara Mastroianni, Hungarian filmmaker Enyedi Ildikó, and Japanese actress Ai Hashimoto.
All films in the Asia Future Section will be world premieres. They include Sima’s Song from Afghan director Roya Sadat, Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat Aun’s Pavane for an Infant, Turkish director Emine Yildirim’s Apollon By Day Athena By Night, The Bora by Iran’s Mohammad Esmaeilie and Three Castrated Goats by Chinese filmmaker Ye Xingyu.
In partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Women’s Empowerment Section will showcase the Asian premiere of “My Favourite Cake” by Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, who are currently prohibited from leaving Iran by Tehran authorities. This section, curated by Tokyo-based former diplomat Andrijana Cvetkovikj, also features titles such as “In Ten Seconds” directed by Turkish filmmaker Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik, “Montages Of A Motherhood” by Hong Kong filmmaker Oliver Chan, “Memories Of A Burning Body” from Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, and “Doctor-X The Movie” by Japanese director Naoki Tamura, among others.
This year’s festival will debut its opening film, the samurai thriller “11 Rebels,” directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, which was earlier announced by Tokyo. Closing the event is “Marcello Mio,” a film directed by French director Christophe Honoré and starring jury member Mastroianni.
This year, the “Now at Nippon Cinema” segment, highlighting new developments in Japanese filmmaking, plans to showcase 12 selections. Among these is a mini-series featuring five films from the acclaimed director Yu Irie, who is spotlighted as Tokyo’s director of focus for this year.
The grand screenings at this festival typically feature past hits, such as Marielle Heller’s Toronto hit “Nightbitch”, the Hong Kong blockbuster “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In”, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle”, Guan Hu’s Cannes Un Certain Regard winner “Black Dog”, Marc Foster’s “White Bird”, the world debut of Indonesian director Mike Wiluan’s “Orang Ikan”, and Eric Khoo’s “Spirit World” starring Catherine Deneuve, which is set in Tokyo.
Tokyo’s animation sector consistently shines with gems such as: “Ghost Cat Anzu” by Kuno Yoko and Yamashita Nobuhiro, “The Wild Robot” from Chris Sanders, “Toto Chan: The Little Girl at the Window” by Yakuwa Shinnosuke, “Flow” by Gints Zilbalodis, “Memoir of a Snail” by Adam Elliot, “Make a Girl” by Yasuda Gensho, and the 4K remastered version of Masuda Toshio’s 1977 masterpiece “Space Battleship Yamato.
The 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival will take place from October 28th to November 6th, primarily in the regions near the downtown Ginza district of the Japanese capital city. You can find the complete list of films competing below.
MAIN COMPETITION:
Adios Amigo (Colombia) AP
Dir: Iván David Gaona
Big World (China) WP
Dir: Yang Lina
Bury Your Dead (Brazil) AP
Dir: Marco Dutra
Cadet (Kazakhstan) WP
Dir: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Daughter’s Daughter (Taiwan) AP
Dir: Huang Xi
The Englishman’s Papers (Portugal) WP
Dir: Sérgio Graciano
In His Own Image (France) AP
Dir: Thierry de Peretti
Lust In The Rain (Japan, Taiwan) WP
Dir: Katayama Shinzo
My Friend An Delie (China) WP
Dir: Dong Zijian
Papa (Hong Kong) WP
Dir: Philip Yung
Promise, I’ll Be Fine (Slovakia, Czech) WP
Dir: Katarína Gramatová
She Taught Me Serendipity (Japan) WP
Dir: Ohku Akiko
Teki Cometh (Japan) WP
Dir: Yoshida Daihachi
Traffic (Romania, Belgium, Netherlands) AP
Dir: Teodora Ana Mihai
The Unseen Sister (China) IP
Dir: Midi Z
Upcoming Premieres Only: ASIAN FUTURE
The Bora (Iran)
Dir: Mohammad Esmaeilie
Missing Child Videotape (Japan)
Dir: Kondo Ryota
Pavane for an Infant (Malaysia)
Dir: Chong Keat Aun
Sima’s Song (Spain, Netherlands, France, Taiwan, Greece, Afghanistan)
Dir: Roya Sadat
Three Castrated Goats (US)
Dir: Ye Xingyu
Valley of the Shadow of Death (Hong Kong)
Dir: Jeffery Lam Sen, Antonio Tam
The Vessel’s Isle (US)
Dir: Wang Di
Wait Until Spring (Iran)
Dir: Ashkan Ashkani
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2024-09-25 11:55