Tokyo International Film Festival has announced its full line-up including the 15 features selected for its Competition section, seven of which are world premieres.
Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho’s historical drama Red Before Dawn will be receiving its world premiere at the festival, along with Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski’s Sister Brother Manhole Cover, and two Chinese films – Wang Jiangyong’s The Night That Binds Us and Qiu Jiongjiong’s Fuxi: Four Tales Of Feasting.
Three Japanese features will also be world premiering at the festival – Akira Ikeda’s Taiwan-Japan co-production The Canary’s Lullaby, Akira Yamamoto’s The Intertwining and Yukiko Mishima’s Two Cigarettes, Three Nights.
The Asian Future competition for rising talents has selected ten titles, including Jani Be Good, directed by Indonesia’s Ariani Darmawan in her feature debut; Filipino filmmaker Katski Flores’s EDJOP, starring Elijah Canlas as the eponymous political activist; and two features from Iran – Soheil Karimi’s Silver and Navid Mohammadzadeh’s I’m Nothing Special Really (see full line-up for Competition & Asian Future below).
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As previously announced, the festival will open with Zeze Takahisa’s Sukiyaki and close with Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony, while Godzilla Minus Zero has been set as the Centerpiece film. The festival has also reintroduced its Crosscut Asia section, dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema, which will screen titles including Filipiñana, Four Seasons In Java and Becoming Human.
The Gala Selection will screen 14 titles, including Christian Mungiu’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Fjord, Yukiko Sode’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title All The Lovers In The Night, Martin McDonagh’s Oscars-tipped Wild Horse Nine, Sabu’s Arrested Memory and Wayne Wang’s Diary Of A Mad Old Man.
Other major sections at the festival include Nippon Cinema Now, which has introduced two new awards this year, World Focus, Animation, Women’s Empowerment, Special Screenings, Japanese Classics, Youth and the Asian Students’ Film Conference.
Guests at the festival will include Cate Blanchett, in town to support the Japan premieres of five short films supported by the Displacement Film Fund (DFF); Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and Japanese-Korean filmmaker Mipo O, who are both receiving the Kurosawa Akira Award; and Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer, who is heading the main competition jury.
Tokyo International Film Festival is taking place October 26-November 4, while the TIFFCOM contents market is scheduled for October 28-30.
TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026:
MAIN COMPETITION:
The Canary’s Lullaby (Taiwan, Japan)
Dir: Ikeda Akira
World Premiere
The Difficult Bride (France, Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway, Germany)
Dir: Rubaiyat Hossain
Asian Premiere
Double Freedom (Chile, Argentina, Luxemburg, Germany, UK)
Dir: Lisandro Alonso
Asian Premiere
Even If Hell Came (Italy)
Dir: Samuele Rossi
Asian Premiere
Fuxi: Four Tales Of Feasting (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi, Qatar)
Dir: Qiu Jiongjiong
World Premiere
Heysel 85 (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany)
Dir: Teodora Ana Mihai
Asian Premiere
The Intertwining (Japan)
Dir: Yamamoto Akira
World Premiere
Magic Atlas (Singapore)
Dir: Sun Xun
Asian Premiere
Memories Of Prison (Portugal)
Dir: Sérgio Graciano
Asian Premiere
The Night That Binds Us (France, Hong Kong)
Dir: Wang Jiangyong
World Premiere
Red Before Dawn (Indonesia)
Dir: Garin Nugroho
World Premiere
Sister Brother Manhole Cover (North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Italy, UK)
Dir: Milcho Manchevski
World Premiere
Trees Are Watching (Turkey)
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi
Asian Premiere
Two Cigarettes, Three Nights (Japan)
Dir: Mishima Yukiko
World Premiere
Until The Day Ends (Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia, Germany)
Dir: Jelena Maksimović
Asian Premiere
ASIAN FUTURE COMPETITION:
EDJOP (Philippines)
Dir: Katski Flores
International Premiere
I’m Nothing Special Really (Iran)
Dir: Navid Mohammadzadeh
World Premiere
Jani Be Good (Indonesia)
Dir: Ariani Darmawan
World Premiere
Miracle Summer (Japan)
Dir: Cai Ronglin
World Premiere
On The Heights (Korea)
Dir: Kim Hyun-min
World Premiere
The Paper Flower (India)
Dir: Chezhiyan
World Premiere
Saravah (Japan)
Dir: Kujiraoka Hironori
World Premiere
Serife Tavsan (Switzerland, Turkey)
Dir: Tareq Daoud
International Premiere
Shyrmauyq (Kazakhstan)
Dir: Azamat Shargyn
World Premiere
Silver (Iran)
Dir: Soheil Karimi
World Premiere
