A press conference highlighting the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF)’s Nippon Cinema Now section, followed by a screening of distinctive director JOJO Hideo’s remake of OZU Yasujiro’s 1933 silent film Passing Fancy, was held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) on October 3, 2023.
ANDO Hiroyasu, Chairman of the 36th TIFF discussed the festival’s highlights, outlining a range of enhancements that are being made to this year’s edition, including an expansion of the number of films in the lineup, a five-fold increase in international guests, special screenings and events dedicated to Ozu, and strengthened collaboration with other countries/regions in Asia.
Also appearing was 36th TIFF Programming Director ICHIYAMA Shozo, who discussed Jojo’s selection in the Nippon Cinema Now section.
The 36th TIFF will be held from October 23 to November 1, 2023 in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area and other venues in TokYO.
Ando Hiroyasu, also said :
This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth and the 60th anniversary of the death of Ozu Yasujiro. TIFF will once again shine a spotlight on Ozu Yasujiro’s works, contemplating what we have learned from him, and how we can connect to the future from a global perspective. We decided that Wim Wenders should be international Competition Jury President, since he has the greatest respect for Ozu of almost any foreign director. I think God gave us instructions from heaven on Mr. Wenders’ choice. Last year Mr. Wenders, he was the winner of the Praemium Imperiale, and visited Japan, where he accepted our offer right away. After discussing with TIFF Programming Director Ichiyama Shozo, we decided that 18 Ozu films will be screened at TIFF and 17 films will be screened at the National Film Archive of Japan. Dragnet Girl will be shown with live music. Symposiums other than screenings will be held at the Mitsukoshi Theater. Wim Wenders will be presenting an homage to Ozu Yasujiro before the panel discussion with director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Jia Zhangke and Kelly Reichardt.
