Tokyo Film Festival Chief Links China's Absence to Box Office Flops
Ichiyama Shozo says star-driven Chinese films flopped this year and many titles sit unreleased as the Tokyo festival unveils a 15-film Competition.
Tokyo International Film Festival programming director Ichiyama Shozo has attributed China's low profile at international festivals in 2026 to star-driven box office flops, slowing investment and a reportedly more complex censorship process, according to Variety.
Ichiyama said many Chinese films featuring star actors flopped at the box office this year, and that many Chinese titles are reportedly sitting unreleased.
The festival's Competition lineup this year includes Samuele Rossi's 'Even If Hell Came', about a young Italian partisan in the Alps in winter 1944. Tokyo requires at least an Asian premiere for Competition entries but pushes for world premieres, usually split around half and half, and aims for around half of the 15 Competition films to come from Asia.
Veterans in the lineup include Garin Nugroho ('Red Before Dawn'), Milcho Manchevski ('Sister Brother Manhole Cover') and Bahman Ghobadi ('Trees Are Watching'). Japanese Competition titles include Ikeda Akira's 'The Canary's Lullaby' and Yamamoto Akira's 'The Intertwining'.
The Gala Selection's Japanese films include opener 'Sukiyaki' from Zeze Takahisa, Yamazaki Takashi's 'Godzilla Minus Zero' and Sode Yukiko's 'All the Lovers in the Night'.
New initiatives
Tokyo last year launched the Asian Students' Film Conference and this year added TIFF Work-in-Progress for Japanese films seeking completion funding. Ichiyama has worked closely with Chinese-language auteurs including Hou Hsiao-hsien and Jia Zhangke; the mainland Chinese industry changed sharply in the mid-2000s as the economy boomed and multiplexes multiplied.
Quick answers
Why does China have a low profile at film festivals in 2026?
According to Ichiyama Shozo, star-driven Chinese films flopped at the box office this year, investment has slowed and the censorship process is reportedly more complex, with many titles sitting unreleased.
Which Japanese films are in the Tokyo International Film Festival lineup?
Competition titles include Ikeda Akira's 'The Canary's Lullaby' and Yamamoto Akira's 'The Intertwining'. The Gala Selection includes opener 'Sukiyaki' from Zeze Takahisa, Yamazaki Takashi's 'Godzilla Minus Zero' and Sode Yukiko's 'All the Lovers in the Night'.
What is TIFF Work-in-Progress?
A new initiative this year for Japanese films seeking completion funding, added alongside the Asian Students' Film Conference that Tokyo launched last year.