The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival has unveiled an extensive slate of cultural programs running alongside its main competition. Highlights include a 13-film retrospective honoring director Mizoguchi Kenji on the 70th anniversary of his death, a symposium exploring a potential new international anime award, and a 10th-anniversary celebration for its Teens Cinema Workshop (Variety).
Mizoguchi Kenji Retrospective and Restorations
Staged as TIFF/NFAJ Classics in collaboration with the National Film Archive of Japan, the Mizoguchi tribute runs from October 27 to November 1 at the Archive’s Nagase Memorial Theatre Ozu (Variety). All 13 films will screen with English subtitles across 12 programs, highlighting newly restored prints accompanied by live benshi narration, musical accompaniment, and guest talks (Variety).
A standout presentation in the retrospective is “The Water Magician” (1933), which receives its first screening in Japan in a new digital restoration supported by the Yanai Initiative—a joint project of Waseda University and UCLA (Variety). The screening schedule also spans works such as “Osaka Elegy” (1936), “Sisters of Gion” (1936), “Ugetsu” (1953), and “Sansho the Bailiff” (1954) (Variety).
Anime Award Symposium and Industry Events
At the festival’s market TIFFCOM, Tokyo Anime Next will host a one-hour symposium on October 30 titled “Toward the Launch of a New Anime Award in 2027” (Variety). The session examines the case for a new international prize led by the Japanese animation industry (Variety). Confirmed speakers include Shimizu Akira, director of the Association of Japanese Animations and president and representative director of A-1 Pictures, with TIFF Animation programming advisor Fujitsu Ryota moderating (Variety).
Teens Cinema Workshop and Educational Strand
Celebrating its 10th year, the TIFF Teens Cinema Workshop will hold a special event on November 3 at Toho Cinemas Chanter (Variety). Past lead mentors including directors Suwa Nobuhiro, Sugita Kyoshi, Seta Natsuki, and Hayakawa Chie are set to participate in screenings and discussions (Variety). Moving forward, the workshop will shift its schedule from August to March, and a companion program titled TIFF Teens Cine Club is also planned (Variety).
Additionally, the fourth TIFF International Symposium on Film Education will take place on October 31 at the National Film Archive of Japan under the theme “Developing Educators and Building Support for Film Education” (Variety). The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival runs from October 26 to November 4, while TIFFCOM runs October 28–30 (Variety).
