Latest in Tokyo Film Festival

Happy Friday, Insiders. Jesse Whittock on board to guide you through the big news items of the week. Read on and sign up for the newsletter here. Tokyo Tales ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Toho. Local talent in abunda…

"Ticket sales have gone up 27%, and we're only at the midway point, so I'm quite happy," Ando Hiroyasu, Tokyo Film Festival (TIFF) Chairman, told Deadline as he shuttled between engagements at this year's busy and buzzy comeback edition.  Hiroyasu assumed the role of Chairman in 2019, sheltering the…

Veteran Hong Kong actor Tony Leung passed through the Tokyo Film Festival this afternoon, where he led a masterclass session following a screening of 2046, his sixth collaboration with filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai.  Leung's appearance onstage was brief but dense, with the actor largely digging into the…

EXCLUSIVE: There's been much celebratory talk here at the Tokyo Film Festival about a new dawn of internationally-minded Japanese artists led by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Makoto Shinkai, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi.  One of the key creative voices often mentioned amongst this new Japanese set is…

As the Tokyo Film Festival returns with a focus on international expansion, this year's MPA seminar hosted as part of the festival industry program was centered around how to make the country a more attractive production environment for international producers. "The world is in love with Japan," Toho…

Godzilla Minus One, the latest edition in Toho's monster franchise and the closing film at this year's Tokyo Film Festival, has locked a deal for distribution in the UK and Ireland.  The Glasgow-based distribution outfit Anime Limited will release the pic in UK and Irish cinemas on December 15. The…

"The pandemic has finally passed, and cinema has returned to normal, but the way people think has changed dramatically," Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou concluded when quizzed by Deadline about cinema post-Covid 19 during a brief chat at the Tokyo Film Festival (TIFF).  "That is," he continued, "people…

Tokyo's International Film Festival returned this evening for its first completely unrestricted, post-COVID-19 edition with a well-attended screening of Wim Wenders' Perfect Days.  Fresh from an appearance at Thierry Frémaux's Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, Wenders, who is also the head of the…

Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou has been set as the recipient of this year's Lifetime Achievement award at the forthcoming Tokyo Film Festival (TIFF), running October 23 – November 1. He will receive the award at the TIFF opening ceremony on October 23. After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in…

The Tokyo Film Festival has set the lineup for its bumper 2023 edition, running October 23 to November 1. Scroll down for the full list.  In the main competition, the festival has set 10 world premieres. The features include Japanese filmmaker Kishi Yoshiyuki's latest pic (Ab)normal Desire and Gu…

The Tokyo Film Festival has set Gu Xiaogang and Mouly Surya as the recipients of the Kurosawa Akira Award at its upcoming 2023 edition, running October 23 — November 1.  The award was handed out for the first time last year after a 14-year gap. The gong is "presented to filmmakers who have made waves…