In the run-up to this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), which wrapped on Wednesday, there was a reassuring sense that things were getting back to normal.
As in pre-pandemic times, securing tickets for the buzziest films seemed to require some kind of sorcery. With international travel resumed, there were the familiar mutterings about how South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival — held a few weeks earlier — was much sexier than its Japanese counterpart.
Judged on its own terms, the 35th edition of TIFF was a success. Audience numbers doubled compared to last year. International guests were back in force, bringing a sense of excitement to post-screening Q&A sessions that Zoom calls simply can’t match.