TOKYO FILM FESTIVAL

[Mark Schilling]

Valerie asked for info on the Tokyo FF line-up. Here's the article on the
line-up I wrote for Screen International.

Mark Schilling



Tokyo International Film Festival 
October 30 to November 7

The Tokyo International Film Festival has announced a line-up of 69 films
in five official sections, as well as 77 films in sponsored events. The
Competition section will feature 16 films from 16 countries, including
Japan. Among the foreign entries that have already lined up Japanese
distributors are Michael Polish's Twin Falls Idaho (Daiei), Chang Tso-chi's
Darkness and Light (Bitters End), Martha Fiennes' Onegin (Gaga), Francois
Ozone's Criminal Lovers and Bakhtijar Khudajnazarov's Moon Father (both
Eurospace). All will be competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix and five other
prizes. One innovation this year is a cash award for a first-time filmmaker
winning the Best Director prize. 
	The fest will open with Luc Besson's Joan of Arc, with Besson set to take
an on-stage bow together with star Milla Jovovich. Minnie Driver, Takeshi
Kaneshiro and Phil Collins are among other celebrity guests expected to
appear. 
	 Highlights in the Special Screenings section include the world premiere
of Godzilla 2000: Millennium -- the first installment in Toho's new
Godzilla series, as well the Japan premiere of the Korean megahit spy
thriller Shuri (original English-language title: Swiri), the Akira
Kurosawa-scripted Ame Agaru (When the Rain Lifts) and the closing film,
Disney's Tarzan. 
	The Cinema Prism section features 39 films from all regions of the world,
with a focus on Asia and the Middle East. Included in the section are five
films by Alexandr Dovzhenko , three films by Amos Gitai and 14-film
retrospective devoted to the work of Robert Bresson. Iran is particularly
well represented in the section, with five films, including Abbas
Kiarostami's The Wind Will Carry Us and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Tales of Kish:
The Door.
	A total of 12 Japan films will screen in four of the five sections,
including Satoshi Isaka's The Frame and Makoto Wada's Round Midnight in the
Competition section and new films by hitmakers Yoshimitsu Morita (Lost
Paradise) and Hideo Nakata (The Ring, Ring 2) in the Special Screenings.
Another highlight, in the Nippon Cinema Now section, is Dead or Alive, the
latest film by Takashi Miike, whose Fudoh: The New Generation and The Bird
People In China have won acclaim on the festival circuit.