Tokyo Filmex

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TOKYO FILMeX
LocationTokyo, Japan
Founded2000
LanguageInternational
Websitehttp://filmex.jp/

TOKYO FILMeX (東京フィルメックス) is an international film festival established in 2000.

History

The film festival was launched by Office Kitano, the agency and production company co-founded by leading actor-filmmaker Takeshi Kitano.[1][2] TOKYO FILMeX especially focuses on new and independent feature films from Asia. A large number of films selected for competition program come from China, Japan, Korea, Iran, and other Asian countries.

The festival's main events have been held annually at Yurakucho, Tokyo in late November. These events consist of the Competition Program, Special screening Program and Filmmakers in focus Program. Alongside the competition program for young emerging Asian filmmakers and other screening programs, stage appearances by actors and symposiums are also planned to discover the masterworks of independent filmmakers from around the world.

In 2018, Office Kitano was restructured after Kitano announced in March that he was quitting to go independent. As representing Kitano brought in a large proportion of Office Kitano's revenue, the company has now scaled back production and is no longer in a position to fund TOKYO FILMeX. Kinoshita Group has stepped in to take over the management role and part-finance the event, which also receives funding from government and sponsorship deals.[3]

27th edition (2026)

The 27th TOKYO FILMeX is scheduled for November 20-29, 2026, at Yurakucho, Tokyo, with ten titles in competition, among them Thailand's Oscar submission 9 Temples to Heaven and Nepal's Elephants in the Fog. Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng sits on the three-member international jury. Chinese director Michelle Zhou's debut Big Little Things, set in Harbin, competes after screening in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival and receiving four Golden Horse Awards nominations. Special screenings include the M+ 4K restoration of Ann Hui's 1981 The Story of Woo Viet and a short film by Jia Zhangke.[4]

Winners

Competition Grand Prize

YearFilmDirectorNationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
2000 Suzhou River Lou Ye China
2001 Flower Island Song Il-gon Korea
2002 Blissfully Yours Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand
2003 Incense Ning Hao China
2004 Tropical Malady Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand
2005 Bashing Masahiro Kobayashi Japan
2006 To Get to Heaven, First You Have to Die Jamshed Usmonov Tajikistan
2007 Tehilim Raphaël Nadjari Israel
2008 Waltz with Bashir Ari Folman Israel
2009 Breathless Yang Ik-june Korea
2010 Love Addiction Shinki Uchida Japan
2011 Old Dog Pema Tseden China
2012 Epilogue Amir Manor Israel
2013 In Bloom Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß Georgia
2014 Cyclo D' Or Francis Pasion Philippines
2015 Tharlo Pema Tseden China
2016 Life after life Zhang Hanyi China
2017 Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts Mouly Surya Indonesia
The Seen and Unseen Kamila Andini Indonesia
2018 Ayka Sergei Dvortsevoy Russia
2019 Ballon Pema Tseden China
2020 In Between Dying Hilal Baydarov Azerbaijan
2021 What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? Alexandre Koberidze Georgia
Anatomy of Time Jakrawal Nilthamrong Thailand
2022 Autobiography Makbul Mubarak Indonesia
2023 Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Phạm Thiên Ân Vietnam

References

  1. "TOKYO FILMeX". filmex.jp. Retrieved Mar 14, 2019.
  2. Filmmaker Magazine
  3. Frater, Patrick (May 9, 2018). "Kinoshita to Rescue Tokyo FILMeX Festival". Retrieved Mar 14, 2019.
  4. "Oscar Entries From Thailand, Nepal Head to Tokyo Filmex Competition; Lee Kang-sheng Joins Jury". Variety. 2026-10-21. Retrieved 2026-10-21.