36th Tokyo International Film Festival

The 36th Tokyo International Film Festival is film festival that took place from October 23 to November 1, 2023.[1] German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president.[2]

36th Tokyo International Film Festival
Official poster of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival
Opening filmPerfect Days
Closing filmGodzilla Minus One
LocationTokyo, Japan
Founded1985
No. of films15 (in Competition)
Festival date23 October–1 November 2023
Website2023.tiff-jp.net/en/
Tokyo International Film Festival

The official poster for the festival was created by fashion designer Koshino Junko and features actor and filmmaker Eiji Okuda alongside his daughter, director Momoko Ando and pays homage to Yasujirō Ozu's film Tokyo Story on the 120th anniversary of his birth. The festival organisers plans to honour Ozu and showcase his films throughout the festival.[3]

The festival opened with Wim Wenders' Perfect Days and closed with Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One.[4]

Juries

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The juries consists of the following members:[5][6]

Main competition

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  • Wim Wenders, German filmmaker, writer and photographer – Jury president
  • Albert Serra, Spanish director
  • Kunizane Mizue, Japanese producer
  • Trần Thị Bích Ngọc, Vietnamese producer
  • Zhao Tao, Chinese actress and producer

Asian Future

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  • Markus Nornes, American Professor of Asian Cinema at University of Michigan – Jury president
  • Raymond Red, Filipino director
  • Takei Miyuki, Japansese President of Film Distribution Company MOVIOLA

Venues

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The following 8 venues will host the festival screenings.

  • Marunouchi TOEI
  • Marunouchi Piccadilly
  • Hulic Hall Tokyo
  • Tokyo Midtown Hibiya
  • Toho Cinemas Chanter
  • Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho
  • Humantrust Cinema Yurakucho
  • Cine Switch Ginza

Official Selection

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Competition

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The following films were selected to compete for the Tokyo Grand Prix.[7]

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
(Ab)normal Desire 正欲 Kishi Yoshiyuki Japan
Air ВОЗДУХ Alexey German Jr. Russia
Blind at Heart Die Mittagsfrau Barbara Albert Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg
Dwelling by the West Lake 草木人间 Gu Xiaogang China
A Foggy Paradise 曖昧な楽園 Kotsuji Yohei Japan
Gondola Veit Helmer Germany, Georgia
The Gospel of the Beast Sheron Dayoc Philippines
A Long Shot 老枪 Gao Peng China
The Persian Version Maryam Keshavarz United States
Roxana Parviz Shahbazi Iran
Sermon to the Birds Quşlara Xütbə Hilal Baydarov Azerbaijan
The Settlers Los colonos Felipe Gálvez Chile, Argentina, Netherlands
Snow Leopard 雪豹 Pema Tseden China
Tatami Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi Georgia, United States
Who Were We? わたくしどもは Tomina Tetsuya Japan

Asian Future

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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.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Fly Me to the Moon 但願人長久 Sasha Chuk Hong Kong
La Luna M. Raihan Halim Singapore, Malaysia
Madina Мадина Aizhan Kassymbek Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India
Maria Mahdi Asghari Azghadi Iran
Real State Anat Malz Israel
Redlife เรดไลฟ์ Ekalak Klunson Thailand
Rosinante Balık Kırgını Baran Gunduzalp Turkey
Sumo Didi Jayant Rohatgi India
Take Me to Another Planet 違う惑星の変な恋人 Kimura Satoshi Japan
Tatsumi Shoji Hiroshi Japan

Gala Selection

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

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
All of Us Strangers Andrew Haigh United Kingdom
The Exorcist: Believer David Gordon Green United States
Full River Red 满江红 Zhang Yimou China
Gold Boy 黄金少年 Shusuke Kaneko Japan
Green Night Han Shuai Hong Kong
Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany
Kubi Takeshi Kitano Japan
Lumberjack the Monster Takashi Miike Japan
The Movie Emperor 红毯先生 Ning Hao China
My (K)Night Nakagawa Ryutaro Japan
Next Goal Wins Taika Waititi United States
Poor Things Yorgos Lanthimos United Kingdom
The Pot-au-Feu La Passion de Dodin Bouffant Trần Anh Hùng France
Shadow of Fire ほかげ Tsukamoto Shinya Japan

World Focus

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

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
All Ears 不虚此行 Liu Jiayin China
Anselm / Somebody Comes into the Light Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit / Somebody Comes into the Light Wim Wenders Germany, Japan
Dante Pupi Avati Italy
Essential Truths of the Lake Lav Diaz Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom
The Fisher Paul Soriano Philippines
Love Is a Gun 愛是一把槍 Lee Hong-chi Hong Kong, Taiwan
May 梅的白天和黑夜 Luo Dong China
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros Frederick Wiseman France, United States
Music Angela Schanelec Germany, France, Serbia
Passages Ira Sachs France
20th Latin Beat Film Festival in TIFF
The Delinquents Los delincuentes Rodrigo Moreno Argentina, Brazil, Luxembourg, Chile
Sorcery Brujería Christopher Murray Chile, Mexico, Germany
Strange Way of Life Extraña forma de vida Pedro Almodóvar Spain, France
Tótem Lila Avilés Mexico, Denmark, France
Un amor Isabel Coixet Spain
Taiwan Cinema Renaissance 2023
After School 成功補習班 Blue Lan Taiwan
Miss Shampoo 請問,還有哪裡需要加強 Giddens Ko
Old Fox 老狐狸 Hsiao Ya-chuan
Who'll Stop the Rain 青春並不溫柔 Su I-Hsuan
Asian Cinerama - Hong Kong Focus
Tony Leung <Masterclass> / 2046 Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong
In Broad Daylight 白日之下 Lawrence Kan
Time Still Turns the Pages 年少日記 Nick Cheuk
Vital Signs 送院途中 Cheuk Wan-chi
Nomad (4K Restored Director's Cut) 烈火青春 Patrick Tam
Special Program: The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Franco Zeffirelli
La Traviata (Digitally Remastered Version) Franco Zeffirelli Italy
Sparrow (Restored Version) Storia di una capinera Italy, Japan
Callas Forever (Digitally Remastered Version) Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Romania
Special Spotlight: Basque Cinema
20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren Spain
A Deep Breath, Women Filmmakers Arnasa Betean Berha Gaztelumendi, Rosa Zufia
In the Company of Women Las buenas compañías Silvia Munt
The Rye Horn O corno Jaione Camborda Spain, Portugal, Belgium
Sultana's Dream El sueño de la Sultana Isabel Herguera Spain, Germany

Youth

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The following films were selected for the Youth section.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Phantom Youth Bota Jonë Luàna Bajrami Kosovo, France
Power Alley Levante Lillah Halla Brazil, France, Uruguay
A Song Sung Blue 小白船 Geng Zihan China

Nippon Cinema Now

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

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Ichiko 市子 Toda Akihiro Japan
Family Sawa Kan
Following the Sound 彼方のうた Sugita Kyoshi
99% Cloudy... Always 99%、いつも曇り Sangoumi Midori
The Making of a Japanese 小学校~それは小さな社会 Ema Ryan Yamazaki Japan, United States, Finland, France
Keep Your Left Hand Down 左手に気をつけろ Nami Iguchi Japan
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus Sora Neo
Twilight Cinema Blues 銀平町シネマブルース Hideo Jojo
Believers ビリーバーズ
Love Nonetheless 愛なのに
On The Edge of Their Seats アルプススタンドのはしの方

Animation

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The following films were selected for the Animation section.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Art College 1994 艺术学院 Liu Juan China
Blue Giant Yuzuru Tachikawa Japan
Chicken for Linda! Linda veut du poulet! Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach France, Italy
The Concierge 北極百貨店のコンシェルジュさん Yoshimi Itazu Japan
Deep Sea 深海 Tian Xiaopeng China
Komada - A Whisky Family 駒田蒸留所へようこそ Yoshihara Masayuki Japan
Lonely Castle in the Mirror かがみの孤城 Keiichi Hara Japan
Robot Dreams Pablo Berger Spain, France
Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo Filip Pošivač Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World この世界の(さらにいくつもの)片隅に Sunao Katabuchi Japan
Lu Over the Wall 夜明け告げるルーのうた Masaaki Yuasa Japan
On-Gaku: Our Sound 音楽 Kenji Iwaisawa Japan

Japanese Classics

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The following films were selected for the Japanese Classics section.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
The Great White Tower (4K Digitally Restored Version) (1966) 白い巨塔 Satsuo Yamamoto Japan
A Band of Assassins (1962) 忍びの者
Orochi (1925) 雄呂血 Buntarō Futagawa

TIFF Series

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

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Ozu (episodes 1 - 3) Hideo Jojo, Matsumoto Yusaku Japan
Why Try to Change Me Now 平原上的摩西 Zhang Dalei China

Shoulders of Giants

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The following fifteen films (all with their 4K digitally restored version) were selected for the "Shoulders of Giants" section, destined to honor the 120th Anniversary of Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Dragnet Girl (1933) 非常線の女 Yasujirō Ozu Japan
I Was Born, But... (1932) 大人の見る絵本 生れてはみたけれど
There Was a Father (1942) 父ありき
Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947) 長屋紳士録
A Hen in the Wind (1948) 風の中の牝鶏
The Munekata Sisters (1950) 宗方姉妹
The End of Summer (1961) 小早川家の秋
Late Spring (1949) 晩春
Early Summer (1951) 麦秋
Tokyo Story (1953) 東京物語
Tokyo Twilight (1957) 東京暮色
Equinox Flower (1958) 彼岸花
Floating Weeds (1959) 浮草
Late Autumn (1960) 秋日和
An Autumn Afternoon (1962) 秋刀魚の味

Akira Kurosawa's Favorite Films

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The following films were screened as a part of a section consisting of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa favorite films.

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
City Lights (1931) Charlie Chaplin United States
The Lower Depths (1936) Les Bas-fonds Jean Renoir France
The Quiet Man (1952) John Ford United States
The 400 Blows (1959) Les quatre cents coups François Truffaut France
Throne of Blood (1957) 蜘蛛巣城 Akira Kurosawa Japan

Awards

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The following awards were presented for the 36th edition:[8]

  • Tokyo Grand Prix: Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden
  • Special Jury Prize: Tatami by Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
  • Best Director: Kishi Yoshiyuki for (Ab)normal Desire
  • Best Actor: Yasna Mirtahmasb for Roxana
  • Best Actress: Zar Amir Ebrahimi for Tatami
  • Best Artistic Confibution: A Long Shot by Gao Peng
  • Audience Award: (Ab)normal Desire by Kishi Yoshiyuki
  • Asian Future Best Film Award: Maria by Mahdi Asghari Azghadi
  • Amazon Prime Video Take One Award: Gone with the Wind by Yang Liping
  • Amazon Prime Video Take One Award Special Jury Prize: Be Prepared by Yasumura Emi
  • Kurosawa Akira Award:

References

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  1. ^ Frater, Patrick (17 August 2023). "Ando Momoko Set as Ambassador for Tokyo Film Festival – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Wim Wenders named 2023 jury president at Tokyo Film Festival". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  3. ^ "36th TIFF Unveils Key Visual, Festival Mission and Festival Navigator ANDO Momoko". Tokyo International Film Festival. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  4. ^ "36th TIFF to Open with "Perfect Days" and Close with "Godzilla Minus One"". Tokyo International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  5. ^ Frater, Patrick (12 June 2023). "Wim Wenders Set as Tokyo Jury Head as Festival Prepares to Honor Ozu Yasujiro – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ "26th Jury". Tokyo International Film Festival. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  7. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (27 September 2023). "Tokyo Film Festival Aims to Boost Global Relevance With Bumper 2023 Edition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  8. ^ Ntim, Zac (1 November 2023). "Tokyo Film Festival Winners: 'Snow Leopard' By Late Tibetan Filmmaker Pema Tseden Takes Top Prize". Deadline. Retrieved 4 November 2023.