Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Walk’ Set as Tokyo Festival Opener
TOKYO – Robert Zemeckis drama “The Walk,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as wire-walker Philippe Petit, has been set as the opener of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
“The Terminal,” Tetsuo Shinohara’s drama about a man and woman who restart their lives on the northern island of Hokkaido, has been set as the closer.
The 28th edition will unspool Oct. 22-31 at the Roppongi Hills shopping and entertainment complex and other venues around the Japanese capital, including three new ones in Shinjuku.
U.S. director Bryan Singer, returning to the festival for the eighth time, will be head of the main competition jury.
TIFF will debut three new sections: Panorama, new films in genres, including animation and horror; Japan Looks, a showcase for Japanese films of the past year; and Japanese Classics.
One special screening highlight will be a 4K digitally restored version of the Akira Kurosawa samurai drama “Ran,” which screened at TIFF’s first edition in 1985.
Lineups for the festival’s three main sections – main competition, Asian Future and Japanese Cinema Splash — will be announced in September.
The Crosscut Asia section, in collaboration with the Japanese Foundation Asia Center, will focus on the Philippines, including five films by Filipino director Brilliante Mendoza. Mendoza will also join with Japanese director Isao Yukisada and Cambodian director Sotho Kulikar in a co-produced omnibus film project that will premiere at TIFF 2016. Such collaborations are expected to be repeated in future years, said Asian Future programmer Kenji Ishizaka.
The TIFFCOM rights market will be held ahead of the festival at the Grand Pacific Le Daiba hotel Oct. 20-22.
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