29th Tokyo International Film Festival | Tokyo International Film Festival Director General From the Director General

Tokyo International Film Festival Director General From the Director General

A Film Festival’s Role in Cultivating Film as Culture

This year, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) will be celebrating its 29th edition. Thanks to the continued cooperation of Mori Building Co., Ltd., the festival will once again take place primarily at Roppongi Hills in central Tokyo.

Throughout my term with the festival, our motto has been A Films-First Festival. In my fourth year as Director General, I am ever more aware of the importance of this principle.

A film festival’s purpose is first and foremost to support the passion of filmmakers and others involved in the world of film. It is also vital to keep in mind TIFF’s imperative to bring quality works from all corners of the globe to our Japanese and international audience. Another important duty of the festival is to collaborate with overseas film festivals in introducing little-known Japanese creators to a much wider audience, and to help cultivate the next generation.
TIFF’s new Youth section, established this year, will play an important role in the festival going forward, by nurturing new talent and cultivating new film audiences.

This year will mark the unveiling of TIFF’s collaboration with the Japan Foundation Asia Center, as the first installment of our series of omnibus films, known as Asian Three-Fold Mirror, will be enjoying its world premiere at the festival.

The festival will once again highlight films that are Japanese in origin, but global in reach and reputation. The popular Japan Now section will return, along with the much-lauded Japanese Classics section, launched in 2015, and we will also showcase Japanese animation, which continues to be in great demand around the world.

The TIFFCOM content market, held in tandem with the festival, allows TIFF to support increased international business prospects for attendees. We are leveraging a variety of platforms to boost collaborations not only within the film industry but also with partners offering potential alternative content suited for the Cool Japan initiative.

We are very grateful for your continued support and participation.

Yasushi Shiina
Director General Tokyo International Film Festival
［TIFF & TIFFCOM］

Yasushi Shiina was born in 1951. After graduating from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the Waseda University in 1974, Shiina joined Sumitomo Corporation Inc. He became a counselor of Sumitomo’s Media Division in 1987. In 1991, he was appointed Director, General Manager of the Film Division, Asmik, and assumed the position of Representative Senior Managing Director in 1998 before becoming President of Asmik Ace Entertainment in 2000. In 2004, he became President of Kadokawa Entertainment, and President of Kadokawa Pictures in 2009. He became Representative Senior Managing Director in 2011, and currently serves as Director-Executive Advisor of KADOKAWA Co., Ltd. He has served in a variety of positions in the Japanese film industry, including as Chairman of the Conference Group for Import and Clearance of Foreign Films in Japan.

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