Film festivals have multiplied like bamboo shoots in Japan over the past two decades, from Okinawa in the south to Sapporo in the north. But the country's biggest is still the Tokyo International Film Festival, whose 30th edition takes place from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3 at venues centering on Roppongi Hills.
Movie buffs can choose from a wide menu of events, including a kabuki performance, seminars, symposiums and workshops, but the main focus will be on the films, more than 200 altogether.
The opening film, which screens on Oct. 25, is Fumihiko Sori's "Fullmetal Alchemist," a fantasy actioner based on a mega-hit comic. The TIFF audience will also get a taste the same night of "Legend of the Demon Cat," a big-budget historical epic from renowned Chinese auteur Chen Kaige and starring Shota Sometani as the legendary monk Kukai (this is only a 10-minute clip, however, as the film is still in post-production).