The Tokyo International Film Festival, which begins on Oct. 25, will celebrate its 30th edition this year. It was first held in 1985 and I started attending it, as a reporter, in 1991.
Back then I wrote a glowing report about the Tokyo Grand Prix winner, the John Sayles urban drama "City of Hope," but I better remember the extravagant parties that reeked of "bubble era" excess — and announced TIFF's ambition to be the Asian equivalent of Cannes.
That hasn't happened yet, though the festival, now in its 30th edition, is Japan's largest film event by far. One obstacle was the 1990s recession that forced cuts, reducing many of the parties to unremarkable corporate events, with salarymen scrambling for sandwiches.