TIFFCOMThe Tokyo Gap Finance Market (TGFM) is announcing its first project awards, as well as a series of talks aimed at producers seeking international co-productions.
Awards will include the US$13,300 (2 million yen) Tokyo Projects Award, selected by an industry jury; the Asian Gen-Z Award, worth US$3,300 (¥500,000), selected by a committee of Gen-Z student filmmakers; as well as in-kind awards from leading Asian post-production studios White Light and Kongchak.
The TIFFCOM TGFM 2025 Awards Ceremony will take place on October 31st in downtown Tokyo, Hibiya.
In addition, TGFM will host TGFM morning sessions, including workshops for filmmakers involved in international co-productions, which will be held on the second and third mornings of the market. As part of the first edition of the Morning Sessions, two seminars will be held: “Discussion of the project market” and “Discussion of funds”.
Project Market Talk speakers include Tanya Morissette, Deputy Director of Frontières International Co-Production Market; HKIFF Industry Director Jacob Wong; and Venice Production Bridge director Pascal Dio. Fund Talk speakers: Remy Bourat from Arte France Cinema, Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of industry programs at Cannes Marché; and Muntir Altuwayrib, legal and financial director of the Red Sea Fund.
This year's TGFM (29-31 October), which allows partially funded projects to meet with potential investors to close the final tranche of funding, selected 23 projects, of which 17 are live-action and six are animation.
The lineup includes several projects from Southeast Asia, such as Four seasons in Java from Kamila Andini from Indonesia; 1982 from the Vietnamese city of Deep Nguyen Hoang; and two projects from the Philippines – Filters directed by Rafael Manuel and Hm, Directed by Don Josephus Rafael Eblahan, produced by Alemberg Ang.
Last year's TGFM projects included the Pen-eka Ratanaruanga project. Kitchen of Deathwho is competing at TIFF this year, and Mariko Tetsuya Dear Strangera Japanese, French, US and UK co-production that screened in Busan and will be screened at Tokyo International Film Festival in the Nippon Cinema Now section.