Tokyo Film Festival Launches Nippon Cinema Now & Kashiko Kawakita Awards; Relaunches Crosscut Asia Section

Tokyo International Film Festival (October 26-November 4) is launching three new initiatives this year, including two new awards in its Nippon Cinema Now section and a brand new Kashiko Kawakita Award to honor women in cinema. The festival is also bringing back its Crosscut Asia section in a new format, Crosscut Asia+, which will screen Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana, Kamila Andini’s Four Seasons In Java and Polen Ly’s Becoming Human, among other titles. The new awards in Nippon Cinema Now – Best Film and the Special Jury Prize – are designed to provide stronger support for undiscovered Japanese talent. In order to ensure a more global perspective in this process, the jury will include international industry experts alongside Japanese jury members. “Through the establishment of a new competition within the Nippon Cinema Now section, we will shine a spotlight on exceptional new Japanese talent and introduce them to the world,” said TIFF Festival Director Takeo Hisamatsu. Watch on Deadline “We hope to give creators the courage to take on their next challenge while empowering them to advance to the global stage. By serving as a platform for emerging talent to take flight, the Tokyo International Film Festival aims to contribute to the growth and development of the Japanese film industry.” Established by the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, the Kashiko Kawakita Award to Honor Women in Cinema pays tribute to Kawakita Kashiko – affectionately known as Madame Kawakita – a trailblazing female figure who bridged East and West through cinema. Before and after WWII, Kawakita introduced European films to Japan and championed the preservation of Japanese film heritage, playing a pivotal role in founding the Japan Film Library Council and laying the groundwork for the National Film Archive of Japan. The first recipient of the award, selected by an all-female committee, is acclaimed film critic Hata Sahoko. From the 1950s onwards, she was instrumental in acquiring and bringing landmark French films to Japan, including Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless and René Clément’s Purple Noon. The official presentation of the award will be held as part of TIFF’s Women’s Empowerment section. Remembering Madame Kawakita, who was active during a time when women were only allowed to play a limited role in the industry, Sahoko said: “Her legacy remains a page in film history, as well as a chapter in the history of women. “On one occasion, Mme. Kawakita whispered to me: “As women, there are so many moments where we must endure, aren’t there?” They were profound words indeed. It is precisely because I felt a compelling desire to pass this story on that I resolved to accept the award.” In a joint initiative with the Japan Foundation, Tokyo film festival is also introducing Crosscut Asia +, a section dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema, carrying on the mission of Crosscut Asia, which ran at the festival between 2014 and 2019. Programmers for the new edition include Indonesia’s Raslene and Japan’s Ueda Masayuki with Markus Nornes serving as advisor .Crosscut Asia+ will also involve panel discussions organsied by the programmers. In addition to Filipiñana, Four Seasons In Java and Becoming Human, which are all still travelling on the festival circuit, the new section will also screen Indonesian filmmaker Bachtiar Siagian’s 1957 Turang, Small Hours Of The Night (2024), from Singapore’s Daniel Hui; and Behind The Flickering Light: The Archive (2013), directed by Indonesia’s Hafiz Rancajale.