The cinema of Japan continued to be magnificent since the Black & White and Silent movies era. Film Festival is an organized concept and screening of films/cinemas. If the film festival includes competition, reputed award titles get presented to the filmmakers. Some film festivals concentrate on a particular director, genre, or topic. Many film festivals focus only on showing short films with a specified maximum duration. The main goals of a film festival are to promote new films to the public and to give established and emerging filmmakers a platform to showcase their work. Mostly the work shown is Independent films at film festivals. Japanese cinema is famous worldwide and attractive to the audience, and the film festivals aim to portray Japanese cinema and Japan with its culture.
1. Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF)
35th Tokyo International Film Festival 2022 was held between 24th Oct and 2nd Nov. The launching year 1985 continued to organize the fest biennially till 1991. Later the fest continued annually with the screening of films and competitions. It is one of Asia’s competitive film festivals, which maintained the reputation of the Tokyo Grand Prix award of the ceremony. Tokyo Gemstone Award also belongs as one of the reputed awards.
2. Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF)
On the Japanese island of Okinawa Island, Ginowan City and Naha City annually organize Okinawa International Movie Festival at Okinawa Convention Center and Sakurazaka. This film festival has uniqueness starting from the founding and the theme. Yoshimoto Kogyo, a century-old Japanese comedic entertainment company, established the fest in 2009 with the Theme Laugh & Peace and focuses on comedy films. Golden Shisa Award is the prestigious award presented to the best film.
3. Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF)
The festival, which is held biennially in the rolling valley far north of Tokyo, Yamagata city, Japan, has been going since October 1989, making it one of the world's oldest festivals for documentaries. Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize is the Grand Prize awarded to the best work in its International Competition. As the name says, it promotes the documentary filmmaking genre. The 18th Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival will happen in October 2023.
4. Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (YIFFF)
Yubari Fanta started in 1990. It takes place annually in the small-town Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan. The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Executive Committee is in charge of running it. It aspires to contribute to and enhance the quality of entertaining movies, promote global cultural exchange through cinema communication, etc. Any genre is acceptable, but the film must be fantastic and full of imagination.
5. Tokyo Filmex
TOKYO FILMeX is an international film festival launched by Office Kitano, the agency and production company co-founded by leading actor-filmmaker Takeshi Kitano in 2000. Along with the competition, it presents new films by prominent filmmakers worldwide and their significant work. The festival elaborates on various topics and critics with the directors, producers, and filmmakers. The 23rd edition of TOKYO FILMeX happened in the Oct-Nov of 2022.
6. PIA Film Festival (PFF)
Pia, launched as a print magazine in 1972, was a complete reference to the city's culture and entertainment and covered not only cinema but also theatre, concerts, and exhibitions. PFF's establishment was a result of the magazine's success. Since its establishment in 1977 in Tokyo, Pia Film Festival (PFF) has annually actively participated and aimed at discovering and developing new filmmakers. Pia magazine is currently an online resource.
7. Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF)
It is a 2005-founded film fest organized annually. By offering opportunities to watch top Asian films, encouraging local film production, and attracting filmmakers from Asia to Osaka, the Osaka Asian Film Festival seeks to promote the economic and social welfare of the city. Engaging a diverse group of people from Osaka and throughout Asia in the sectors of culture, art, education, tourism, and business allows OAFF to serve as an open platform that helps Osaka and film development.
8. Rainbow Reel Tokyo
Established in 1992, Rainbow Reel Tokyo serves as an annual international film festival for sexual minorities/LGBT communities to present their community through screens and develop a more diverse and unrestricted society. Hence it is open to individuals of all sexual identities. Held in Tokyo, Japan, Rainbow Reel Tokyo was formerly known as the Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, aka TILGFF.
9. Nara International Film Festival (NIFF)
The NIFF, or Nara International Film Festival, is a biennial film festival that happens every two years in the historical city of Japan, Nara. The Nara International Film Festival celebrates global talent and cultural variety and provides an opportunity for emerging artists from various cultures. The International Competition category winners get awarded the Golden Shika Award, and Student Film Category winners get awarded Golden Kojika Award.
10. Toronto Japanese Film Festival (TJFF)
The Toronto Japanese Film Festival (TJFF) presents the best Japanese movies that have won awards from the Japanese Film Academy, foreign film festival audiences, and Japanese audiences and critics. It gets organized in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. The Toronto Japanese Film Festival is rapidly raising and tagging itself as the world's most influential platform for Japanese cinema. The 11th edition was a successful event of TJFF in June 2022.
