Veteran American actor Tommy Lee Jones will head the competition jury at next month’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
The 30th edition of the festival will run Oct. 25 to Nov. 3 in venues across the Japanese capital. It will open with Japanese fantasy film “Fullmetal Alchemist” and close with Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”
Jones will be joined on the jury by Belgian director Martin Provost (“Serafine”), Iranian writer-director and producer Reza Mirkarimi, Japanese actor Masatoshi Nagase, and Chinese actress, director and investor Vicky Zhao Wei.
The jury will award a Grand Prix; a jury prize; and best director, screenplay, actor, actress and artistic contribution prizes.
The 15 films in competition, mostly hailing from Asia, Central Asia and Europe, include erotic crime thriller “Gutland”; “The Lowlife,” adapted from a novelist by a Japanese porn star; “Maryline,” starring Vanessa Paradis, in another female-focused drama; and “Grain” with Jean-Marc Barr, a Turkish sci-fi film with strong environmental themes.
“Our TIFF 30 Vision encapsulates our commitment to share the joys of cinema, propel exchange between film professionals, and cultivate a future for film,” said Takeo Hisamatsu, a senior executive at Shochiku, who takes over this year as festival director.
The festival is this year adding three new screening programs: the Midnight Film Festival; Cinema Arena 30; and Godzilla Cinema Concerts. The Midnight Film Festival is an all-night six-screen event; Cinema Arena 30 is a series of 30 film screenings in the Roppongi Hills Arena running throughout the festival; and Godzilla Cinema Concerts are screenings of the original “Godzilla,” accompanied by a live orchestra.