Tokyo Film Festival Opens 39th Edition With 204 Films

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival opened Oct. 26 with 204 films from 112 countries and regions, 35 world premieres, and a Japanese government pledge to expand overseas content sales to 20 trillion yen ($130 billion) by 2033. The festival runs through Nov. 4, with screenings concentrated in the Ginza district and the TIFFCOM market set for Oct. 28-30 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center in Hamamatsucho.

Rain soaked the opening red carpet in Hibiya, but the guest list did not thin. Tadanobu Asano of Shōgun, Junichi Okada, Kento Nakajima, Mei Nagano and Takumi Kitamura walked the carpet under umbrellas. Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, attending with the cast of his competition film Sister Brother Manhole Cover, carried a replica manhole cover as a shield. "Manhole covers keep the dirt of society hidden, and they are what our heroes steal in the film," he said. The line doubles as the film's pitch; the stunt worked as both.

Who is running the festival now?

The ceremony marked the return of Takeo Hisamatsu as festival director after chairman Hiroyasu Ando departed earlier this year. Hisamatsu previously held the post from 2017 to 2021. "I've been in the film industry for nearly 50 years — involved in live-action, anime, documentaries; in Japan, the U.S., Africa and Asia, across multiple genres," he said on stage before declaring the festival open. He has promised a stronger entertainment focus and a more celebratory atmosphere while keeping the commitment to independent and international cinema. The proof will be in the 2027 edition; this year's structural changes are already visible in the awards table.

What changes in the awards mechanics?

Three additions reshape the prize structure:

• Nippon Cinema Now, the showcase of contemporary Japanese filmmaking, introduces competitive awards for the first time, aimed at giving local directors more international visibility.
• CROSSCUT ASIA+, organized with the Japan Foundation, spotlights Southeast Asian cinema.
• The Kashiko Kawakita Award debuts in 2026, recognizing women who have contributed to film culture. Film critic Sahoko Hata, who helped introduce landmark European films to Japanese audiences, is the inaugural recipient.

The Kurosawa Akira Awards go to Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof — Golden Bear winner for There Is No Evil and Oscar nominee for The Seed of the Sacred Fig, whose work has jeopardized his freedom in Iran — and Japanese director Mipo O, known for The Light Shines Only There and Living in Two Worlds.

Who judges the competition?

Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer heads the five-member jury assessing 15 films for the Tokyo Grand Prix. He is joined by Korean producer Oh Jungwan (A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life), producer Alex Lo (Jim Jarmusch's Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother), actress Makiko Watanabe and colorist Yov Moor (Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague). "As filmmakers, we've all been influenced by the Japanese masters," de Heer said, citing an Ozu shot that stayed with him for over half a century.

Competition titles include Bahman Ghobadi's Trees Are Watching with Eva Green, Manchevski's Sister Brother Manhole Cover, Garin Nugroho's Red Before Dawn and Qiu Jiongjiong's Fuxi: Four Tales of Feasting. Three Japanese films compete: Akira Ikeda's The Canary's Lullaby, Yukiko Mishima's Two Cigarettes, Three Nights and Akira Yamamoto's The Intertwining.

What does the political muscle mean in practice?

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a video message. "Film has the power to connect people across countries and cultures," she said, before pledging accelerated public-private investment toward the $130 billion export target. Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa name-checked Godzilla Minus Zero, which screens as centerpiece film on Nov. 1. Cate Blanchett arrives later this week for five short-film premieres under the Displacement Film Fund she co-founded, a public discussion Oct. 30 with Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat, and the Praemium Imperiale.

The Academy sent CEO Bill Kramer, officer Meredith Shea and president Lynette Howell Taylor, who joins an Oct. 28 panel on the Oscars' international activities. Kramer's advice to Japanese fans: "Go and support your filmmakers. Go to the cinema." The festival opened with Takahisa Zeze's Sukiyaki, about the 1963 song that topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks; Okada said he practiced piano for three months. It closes Nov. 4 with Yeon Sang-ho's Colony.