Tokyo Film Festival Unveils 15-Film Competition Lineup

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival has unveiled its complete program, headlined by a 15-film main competition featuring new work by Indonesian director Garin Nugroho, Japanese filmmaker Mishima Yukiko and Hong Kong-based Qiu Jiongjiong.

Seven of the competition titles will receive world premieres. They include "The Canary's Lullaby," a Taiwan-Japan co-production directed by Ikeda Akira, and Qiu Jiongjiong's "Fuxi: Four Tales of Feasting," produced across Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Yamamoto Akira's Japanese drama "The Intertwining" and Wang Jiangyong's France-Hong Kong co-production "The Night That Binds Us" also premiere in Tokyo.

Nugroho's "Red Before Dawn" from Indonesia joins the world-premiere group, alongside Milcho Manchevski's North Macedonia-led ensemble film "Sister Brother Manhole Cover" and Mishima Yukiko's "Two Cigarettes, Three Nights" from Japan.

The remaining eight competition titles arrive as Asian premieres. Lisandro Alonso's Chile-Argentina co-production "Double Freedom" will screen alongside Teodora Ana Mihai's Belgian soccer-disaster drama "Heysel 85" and Rubaiyat Hossain's France-Bangladesh co-production "The Difficult Bride." The section also includes Samuele Rossi's Italian film "Even If Hell Came," Sun Xun's Singapore title "Magic Atlas," Sérgio Graciano's Portuguese drama "Memories of Prison," Iranian-Turkish director Bahman Ghobadi's Turkey-set "Trees Are Watching" and Jelena Maksimović's Serbian co-production "Until the Day Ends."

The Asian Future competitive section presents 10 titles, eight of them world premieres. The lineup spans Navid Mohammadzadeh's Iranian film "I'm Nothing Special Really"; Ariani Darmawan's Indonesian title "Jani Be Good"; Cai Ronglin's "Miracle Summer" from Japan; Kim Hyun-min's South Korean film "On the Heights"; Tamil Nadu filmmaker Chezhiyan's Indian entry "The Paper Flower"; Kujiraoka Hironori's Japanese film "Saravah"; Azamat Shargyn's Kazakh film "Shyrmauyq"; and Soheil Karimi's Iranian drama "Silver." Katski Flores's Filipino title "EDJOP" and Tareq Daoud's Switzerland-Turkey co-production "Serife Tavsan" receive international premieres.

The Gala selection, previously announced, opens with Zeze Takahisa's "Sukiyaki" and closes with Yeon Sang-ho's South Korean "Colony," screening as a Japanese premiere. Yamazaki Takashi's "Godzilla Minus Zero" serves as the festival centerpiece. Other Gala titles include Tony Gilroy's "Behemoth!," Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord," Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine," Wayne Wang's "Diary of a Mad Old Man," Rodrigo Sorogoyen's "The Beloved" and Jane Schoenbrun's "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma."

Nippon Cinema Now spotlights nine Japanese films, with world premieres for Matsumura Shingo's "Between Us," Matsubayashi Yoju's "Okinawa Saudade," Saito Kisin's "Kefi," Ueda Shinichiro's "Earthlings in Love," Inudo Isshin's "Yamazaki Riverside -Over an Actor's Shoulder-" and "Plastic Love!," co-directed by Sybilla Patrizia and Clementine Nuttall.

The World Focus section features films by Valeska Grisebach, Lav Diaz, Angela Schanelec and Indonesian director Edwin, plus a Taiwan Cinema Renaissance 2026 strand, an Australia Spotlight, a Youssef Chahine centenary retrospective and a tribute program for German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger.

The Classics section presents 4K digitally remastered versions of Naruse Mikio's "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" and "Scattered Clouds," alongside a Nikkatsu Roman Porno 55th anniversary retrospective and a TIFF/National Film Archive of Japan retrospective devoted to Mizoguchi Kenji. Additional sections cover Women's Empowerment, Animation — which includes a "Women Directors: Diverse Visions" strand — Crosscut Asia+ and Youth.

Programming director Ichiyama Shozo leads the selection, with senior programmer Ishizaka Kenji overseeing Asian Future.

The festival runs Oct. 26–Nov. 4 in Tokyo, with the competition's world-premiere-heavy slate positioning it as a first-look destination for Asian cinema ahead of the winter awards corridor.