Tokyo International Film Festivalprogram director of the company Ichiyama Shozo has been curating films since the 1990s, driving the seismic transition from 35mm to digital while maintaining its core philosophy.
“Cinematic expression hasn’t really changed much just because it’s gone digital,” says Ichiyama. Diversity. “So I believe that nothing has fundamentally changed in my programming either.”
He cites a 2000 conference in Cannes on the impact of digital technology, noting that while some French directors expressed concern, director Kurosawa Kiyoshi said his approach remained the same regardless of format.
For TIFF 2025, Ichiyama describes the competitive selection as his boldest programmatic move yet. “I think the result is a challenging selection that combines different genres,” he says. “With a wide range of films, from films with entertainment elements to experimental films and even documentaries, we have a lineup that is difficult to compare.”
The competition includes filmmakers from Thailand to North Macedonia and Palestine, although Ichiyama insists regional balance is not the main goal. “In our selection process, we prioritize quality over regional balance,” he explains. “This year, coincidentally, we have achieved diversity in the line-up in terms of the nationality of the producing countries.”
TIFF's international competition favors Asian premieres over world premieres, and Ichiyama defends the strategic choice in the streaming era. “The need to insist on world premieres seems to have diminished,” he says, noting that films are now available via streaming platforms soon after festivals.
However, he acknowledges the limitations of this approach. “We believe that in the TIFF competition it makes less sense to show films that have already been shown in competition at major film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno or San Sebastian, so we try to present such works in the Gala Selection or World Focus sections.”
When it comes to the festival versus streaming debate, Ichiyama is unequivocal about the value of theatrical premieres. “For a film, releasing in theaters or at a film festival is more profitable,” he says, quoting Spike Lee“Highest 2 Lowest”, a remake of Kurosawa Akira's “High and Low”, which was only released via streaming in Japan. “Most people in Japan don’t know it exists,” he notes. “It is unfortunate that films that have the potential to attract significant attention are completely ignored when in fact they are not.”
The 2025 release celebrates the centenary of Yukio Mishima's birth and focuses on the TIFF format. Paul SchroederMishima: A Life in Four Chapters is showing for the first time in Japan, along with a new documentary and two Japanese films based on Mishima's works. “Mishima’s works continue to be widely read in Japan, and we hope that this multi-faceted program will once again shed light on his works,” says Ichiyama.
When asked about balancing creative merit with commercial potential, Ichiyama cites this year's entry Blonde by Sakashita Yuichiro as an example. “The film appears commercial at first glance, but it showcases the director's unique personality,” he says. “Of course, the competition also includes films whose commercial potential is considered very difficult.”
TIFF has expanded its youth and educational programming with the launch of the Asian Student Film Conference this year, the festival's first official short film competition, although limited to film school productions. “There are many hidden gems in the younger generation that are waiting to be discovered,” says Ichiyama. “We hope that a future master will emerge from this new section.”
Whether to establish a wider short film competition, similar to the major European festivals, “remains one of our future challenges,” he adds.
Asked to describe the essence of TIFF 2025, Ichiyama responded, “Looking at the selection of films, I think it reflects the current chaotic situation in the world in different ways.”
