The Tokyo International Film Festival has announced three significant new initiatives aimed at expanding its reach and celebrating diverse voices in cinema. The festival will debut the Nippon Cinema Now competition section, featuring both a Best Film prize and a Special Jury Prize selected by a panel of Japanese and international industry professionals. According to festival director Hisamatsu Takeo, these awards are designed to nurture Japanese filmmakers at all career stages while building international audiences for their work.
A second new program, Crosscut Asia+, will spotlight films from Japan and Southeast Asia through collaborative curation. Developed with the Japan Foundation, this section revives the earlier Crosscut Asia strand that concluded in 2019. Film programmers from both regions will work together around a shared theme, with the inaugural “Side by Side” edition featuring six films selected by Jakarta-based programmer Raslene and Tokyo’s Ueda Masayuki, accompanied by panel discussions exploring the selections.
The festival also established the Kawakita Kashiko Award to honor women advancing film culture locally and globally. Named after a pioneering figure who introduced European cinema to Japan during and after World War II, the award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the industry. Film critic Hata Sahoko was selected as the inaugural recipient for her decades-long career acquiring and promoting influential international films in Japan. The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival runs October 26 through November 4.
Originally reported by Variety →
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