Filmmaker Taymor is Jury president, Tokyo International Filmfest

The organisers of 2022 Tokyo International Film Festival have named renowned opera theatre and film director, Julie Taymor, as President of International Competition jury at the 35th TIFF. Taymor has gained worldwide recognition through her work, such as the stage musical The Lion King, which has continuously played for 25 years in over 100 cities in 20 countries, and the acclaimed films Titus (1999), Frida (2002), Across the Universe (2007), and The Glorias (2020). Taymor will be the second female head of jury in a row, following Isabelle Huppert, last year. The other four-jury members would be named at a later date. They will assess the 15 films selected for the Competition section from all over the world. Chairman of TIFF Ando Hiroyasu, expressed his delight that Taymor accepted the invitation: “Ms. Taymor has directed not only musical theatre but also many excellent films. She has a particularly strong connection with Japan, having studied Ningyo Joruri traditional puppet theater here as a student and later applying it to her own works.

She is also a big fan of Kurosawa Akira and is the perfect fit as jury president this year, as we revive the Kurosawa Akira Award.” For Julie Taymor, it is such an honour to be appointed as Jury President of a prestigious festival such as the TIFF. “The arts are the beacon that brings us out of the chaos, leading the way. In a darkened theater the images flickering before us draw us both deeply into and also out of ourselves, our isolated and single selves. Hold onto the film theatres, the palaces that bring us together to cross the boundaries of what we don’t know at all, what we think we know and what we have personally experienced. Become the lives and loves of others and let them inspire and torment you. It is a thrilling honor to come to Japan to preside over the International Competition Jury for the 35th TIFF,” she said. The 35th TIFF will feature physical screenings and a variety of related events in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of Tokyo, from October 24 to November 2, 2022. For the first time in three years, the 10-day festival will open with a Red Carpet event.

… Unveils Full Lineup
THE organisers of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) have unveiled the full lineup and other highlights of its 35th edition in a press conference held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, one of the festival’s main venues. The 35th TIFF will feature physical screenings and a variety of related events in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of Tokyo, from October 24 to November 2, 2022. For the first time in three years, the 10-day festival will open with a Red Carpet event. There will be a TIFF Lounge featuring talk sessions between leading auteurs from Asia and beyond, co-presented for the third year by The Japan Foundation and TIFF. There will also be panel events related to the Super Sentai tokusatsu franchise, Special Talk Sessions by creative force Kawamura Genki, and a TIFF Teens anniversary session with the leading auteurs who have served as mentors for the past five years. In conjunction with the screening of Maryna Er Gorbach’s Klondike (Ukraine, Turkey), in the World Focus section, TIFF will be collecting contributions for the Ukraine at the theaters. The 35th TIFF will be held from October 24 to November 2, 2022 in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area and other venues in Tokyo. Full lineup for the 35th TIFF: https://2022.tiff-jp.net/en/

Berlinale World Cinema Fund: WCF Europe Funding Recommendations
THE Berlinale World Cinema held its most recent jury meeting which resulted in three funding recommendations for the WCF Europe programme. According to WCF Secretariat, a total of 216 projects from 55 countries applied for the current funding cycle – including the funding recommendations already announced. The recommendations now comprise funds totaling 449,000 Euros. The members of the WCF juries are the documentary film producer and documentary creative advisor Marta Andreu (Spain), the producer Zsuzsanna Kiràly (Germany / Austria), film scholar and curator Viola Shafik (Germany / Egypt), producer, festival director of the pan-African film festival FESPACO and the Berlin festival Afrikamera, Alex Moussa Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), the Berlinale delegate for sub-Saharan Africa Dorothee Wenner (Germany) and Vincenzo Bugno (Italy / Germany), the head of the WCF. Funding Recommendations WCF Europe went to El Castillo, director: Martín Benchimol (Argentina). Production: Gema Films (Argentina), Gema Juárez Allen and Sister Productions (France), Julie Paratian. Documentary form. Funding: €25,000. The second funding recommendation went to   Crocodile Tears, director: Tumpal Tampubolon (Indonesia). Production: Tanakhir Film (Indonesia), Mandy Marahimin, 2Pilots Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany), Harry Flöter and Acrobates Films (France), Claire Lajoumard. Feature film. Funding: €40,000. The project was also presented in the “Talent Project Market” in 2022. The third funding recommendation went to Hijo Mayor, director: Cecilia Kang (Argentina). Production: Tarea Fina (Argentina), Juan Pablo Miller and In Vivo Films (France), Claire Charles-Gervais. Feature film. Funding: €40,000