Tokyo International Film Festival kicks off with return of red carpet event

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:22 JST, October 25, 2022

The 35th Tokyo International Film Festival opened Monday with stars walking the red carpet for the first time since the pandemic started.

About 130 celebrities posed for photographs amid applause from fans in front the main venue of the festival, the Tokyo Midtown Hibiya commercial complex in Chiyoda Ward.

Among the stars was Kazunari Ninomiya, the lead actor in Takahisa Zeze’s “Fragments of the Last Will,” the opening film making its world premiere. Ninomiya, a member of cultural icon Arashi, received his big break in acting with a key role in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning 2006 film “Letters from Iwo Jima.”

“As a member of the film industry, I have been looking forward to this opening of the festival,” Ninomiya said. “I think with the variety of films being shown, people can enjoy encountering all kinds of things.”

The opening ceremony was held at the lush Tokyo Takarazuka Theater next door for the first time. Former Takarazuka Revue stars sang a tune from their musical based on the film “Ocean’s Eleven” to set the mood.

This year’s president of the festival’s International Competition Jury is Julie Taymor, the American theater and film director known for bringing the “The Lion King” to the stage. Fifteen films, including three from Japan, will compete for the Tokyo Grand Prix in the International Competition.

The film festival runs through Nov. 2, with 169 films screening in the Ginza, Hibiya, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho districts.