Tokyo IFF highlights

Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is pleased to announce that Disney’s latest animated film, “Big Hero 6,” has been selected as the opening film for the 27th TIFF. The live-action film, “PARASYTE,” which was adapted from the world-acclaimed Japanese comic, has been selected as the official closing film. “Big Hero 6” is the heartwarming adventure story of Hiro, a 14-year-old robotics prodigy, and a robot called Baymax. The film is set in the fictional metropolis of San Fransokyo (a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo). “PARASYTE” is directed by one of Japan’s best filmmakers, Takashi Yamazaki (“Always – Sunset on 3rd Street” and “The Eternal Zero”). The film was adapted from a Japanese comic by Hitoshi Iwaaki that was published in the magazine ‘Gekkan Afternoon’ from 1990 to 1995 and sold 11 million copies. This is an exciting year for TIFF. Not only we will be showing films in two additional festival venues – Nihonbashi and the Kabukiza theatre in Ginza – we also will be focusing on animation, the most popular content in Japan. The highlights of this year’s festival will be the world premieres of two blockbuster movies, one from Hollywood (“Big Hero 6“) and one from Japan (“PARASYTE“). The 27th TIFF will be held October 23-31, 2014 at Roppongi Hills, TOHO Cinemas Nihonbashi, and other venues in Tokyo. TIFF’s affiliated multi-content market,TIFFCOM2014 (Japan Content Showcase 2014) will take place October 21-23 at the GRAND PACIFIC LE DAIBA in the Tokyo Bay area. Festival News

Four Asian films will compete in the main competition of next month's 27th Tokyo International Film Festival(23-31 Oct 2014).

After several shorts, Yeo's River of Exploding Durians 榴蓮忘返 (pictured) marks his directorial debut. Set in a port town, the romance of two high school students is cut short as the community rises up against plans to build a factory. Yeo told Film Business Asia that is is the first film from Malaysia to compete at the festival.

Li's River Road 家在水草豐茂的地方 — which participated at the 2011 Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) 香港亞洲電影投資會 under the title _Where Is My Home? — is about two brothers of the Uygur ethnic minority who travel along the Silk Road to reunite with their parents.

De La Cruz's Ruined Heart! Another Love Story between a Criminal and a WhorePusong Wazak: Isa na namang kwento ng pag-ibig sa pagitan ng puta at kriminal is a romance about a hit man who rescues a prostitute from violence. It participated at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival project market last year.

In a statement, programming director Yoshi YATABE 矢田部吉彦 described his three criteria for making the competition selection: "auteurism", "diversity" and "an unswerving focus on depicting humanity". He wrote, "To sum up a common trait of the highly diverse lineup of 15 films on view: they could all be called portrayals of 'people with their backs to the wall'."

The four relatively young Asian directors — who have an average age of 35-years-old — reflects the festival's broader shift to making the event a springboard for young film-making talent in the region. The move was best demonstrated by last year's launch of the Asian Future section, dedicated to first- and second-time directors.

Five of the ten films in the second edition of the Asian Future lineup originate from Southeast Asia. With the exception of Lucky KUSWANDI's In the Absence of the SunSelamat pagi, malam, nine of the films will have their world premiere in Tokyo next month.

This year, the festival is launching Crosscut Asia, an annual programme dedicated to films from a single Asian country. This year's Thailand focus includes the Japan premieres of Concrete Clouds ภวังค์รัก, Tang Wong ตั้งวง and The Teacher's Diary คิดถึงวิทยา.

Outside of Japan, two-thirds of the Asian films in this year's main programme originate from Southeast Asia. There is just one title from South Asia and eight films from elsewhere in East Asia, including six titles from the Greater China region.

There are dedicated China and Korean film week sidebar events operated by outside organisations, which include an impressive mix of art house and commercial titles. However, the sidebars are not easily accessible to visiting guests and the films do not typically have English subtitles. Media agencies