Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today announced the outline for this year’s festival at a press conference in the Roppongi Hills complex, at which the festival will be held in October.
by Christopher O’Keeffe
The Tokyo International Film Festival will be returning for the 26th time this year, with dates set for October 17th through to the 26th. The festival’s opening film will be the Tom Hanks starring Captain Phillips (pictured above), from Bourne series director Paul Greengrass. The film, based on true events, tells a story in which Hanks plays Captain Richard Phillips, whose ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.
The Tokyo International Film Festival’s 2013 logo
Captain Phillips won’t be released here until late November, so it’s a good chance to catch an early viewing.
The closing film will be Koki Mitani’s The Kiyosu Conference. Mitani is seen as one of Japan’s leading writer-directors after his last film, 2011’s A Ghost of a Chance, had huge success at the domestic box office.
Acting as festival ‘Muse’ this year, a role played by actress and former AKB darling Atsuko Maeda last year, is Chiaki Kuriyama. Kuriyama first came to international attention after memorable roles in Battle Royale and Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
TIFF is an outstanding festival, held mainly at the Roppongi Hills complex, that offers film-fans the opportunity to catch the best new cinema from Japan, Asia and around the world.
The festival has a strongly recognized Competition section, which in its 25th year in 2012 awarded the French film Untouchable the prize known as the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix after receiving 1,332 entries from 91 countries.
Expect more announcements, including a full line-up, as we follow all Tokyo International Film Festival developments over the next couple of months.
For more information, please see the festival’s official site, which can be read in English at this link: tiff.yahoo.co.jp
