Tokyo Film Festival Launches Women’s Empowerment Section

Chiara Mastroianni, Johnnie To Join Heavyweight Tokyo Film Festival Jury

The Tokyo International Film Festival will launch its first Women’s Empowerment section. This year’s edition of the festival will also showcase the works of (male) director Irie Yu in its Nippon Cinema Now strand.

Film festivals in Asia have been slower than their North American and European counterparts to bake diversity, equality and inclusion principles into their structures and selections. But, in 2021, the Tokyo festival became the first Asian film festival to sign with Collectif 50/50, an international organization promoting gender equality in the film industry.

Now, the festival says that the Women’s Empowerment section “will take TIFF a further step forward on gender issues [..] celebrate women’s achievements and [..] further expand the horizons of future cinema.”

Co-hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan government, Women’s Empowerment will highlight films directed by female filmmakers and/or on female-focused films. Seven titles are expected to be selected in this first year.

Andrijana Cvetkovikj, the first Macedonian ambassador to Japan and former jury member of Amazon Prime Video Take One Award at the 34th TIFF in 2021, will serve as the Women’s Empowerment senior programmer.

Tony Leung Set as Tokyo Film Festival Jury President

“For years, screen representation has been limited by a predominantly male perspective, missing a fuller range of experiences. However, with advancements in digital technology, filmmaking has become more accessible, leading to a surge in female directors, writers, and protagonists. This year’s Tokyo IFF program highlights these emerging voices, celebrating their diverse stories and contributions to cinema,” said Cvetkovikj.

In addition to the films screened, the section will host a symposium and screening talk sessions.

The Nippon Cinema Now, which the Tokyo programmers regard as an essential catch-up on recent Japanese features for international participants, will play five films by Irie: “8000 Miles: SR Saitama’s Rapper” (2009); ‘8000 Miles 2: Girls Rapper’ (2010); “Roadside Fugitive” (2012); “The Sun” (2016); and his 2024 latest “A Girl Named Ann.”

“Irie Yu has consistently released exciting films while moving between independent films and major studio productions, and he is recognized as one of the key figures shaping the future of Japanese cinema. With the release of his masterpiece ‘A Girl Named Ann,’ which marks a significant milestone in his career, we have curated this feature not only to celebrate his accomplishments to date, but also to help pave the way for his well-deserved recognition abroad,” said Tokyo IFF programmer Ichiyama Shozo.

The festival runs Oct. 28-Nov.6, with its accompanying TIFFCOM rights market to be held Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2024. The bulk of the festival’s lineup will be unveiled in late September.

'Godzilla Minus One' Sets Pan-Europe Theatrical Releases Through Piece of Magic (EXCLUSIVE)