Tokyo Film Festival Chief Seeks More Funding Ahead of 40th Edition

Takeo Hisamatsu, reinstalled as director of the Tokyo International Film Festival earlier this year, has outlined plans to secure more funding and sponsors and to bring in studio-hosted events, as the festival prepares for its 40th anniversary edition next year. He spoke in an interview with hollywoodreporter.com.

Hisamatsu said the festival needs more money because of yen depreciation and inflation, and that he is working to attract additional sponsors for the 40th edition. He added that he is optimistic the government will boost support before that edition.

This year's festival introduced competitive prizes for its Nippon Cinema Now section, along with a new TIFF Work-in-Progress initiative that connects Japanese productions with international festival programmers and industry figures. Toho is hosting its first invitation-only "Toho Izakaya Night" at this year's event.

Hisamatsu was named festival director in 2017 and served until 2021. Hiroyasu Ando was appointed chairman in 2019 and later took charge of the event, moving it to Ginza and Hibiya, shaking up programming staff and reviving the Kurosawa Akira Award. Earlier this year Ando abruptly stepped down and Hisamatsu was reinstalled.

Japanese cinema's wider momentum

The interview comes as Japanese films draw wider international attention. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car won the best international feature Oscar and Godzilla Minus One won a visual effects Oscar, while Japan was selected as the country of honor at Cannes' Marché du Film in May and more than 30 Japanese films screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month. Japan's box office hit a record ¥274.5 billion ($1.8 billion) in 2025, surpassing its previous 2019 high.