TIFFCOM Chief Urges Japanese Firms to Follow Hollywood Distribution Model

Shiina Yasushi, CEO of TIFFCOM, said Japanese companies should retain ownership of their intellectual property and take part directly in international distribution and marketing, as the content market of the Tokyo International Film Festival heads into its 23rd edition. He made the remarks in an interview with Variety.

Shiina pointed to Hollywood studios that set up their own distribution operations market by market as the model Japan should follow, rather than leaving overseas sales to outside agents.

He also outlined expansion goals for TIFFCOM through 2030. The market's Tokyo IP Market was taken to the Cannes Film Market, which Shiina said raised TIFFCOM's profile; at Cannes, Japan was Country of Honor, and its delegation included sales executives, directors, producers, studios and senior company leaders.

Financing and technology strands

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market has a collaboration with Italy and this year a partnership with Canada's Frontières. TIFFCOM's technology keynote this year features AGBO executives speaking about AI and storytelling.

TIFFCOM was once mainly a place where international sales agents traded finished content, and when the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market started it simply picked projects that met its eligibility rules. The Japanese government has set a target of JPY20 trillion ($126.6 billion) in overseas content sales by 2033, with anime expected to bring in JPY6 trillion ($38 billion).