The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival began its 10-day run on October 27 with a thronged red carpet event, as cinema luminaries from around the world strolled to the TIFF Opening Ceremony under warm autumn skies.
 

 
Over 200 filmmakers, actors and leading lights from across all sections of the festival, as well as the TIFF jury members, briefly greeted an awaiting audience before beginning their walk along the 162-meter carpet, where they obliged autograph and selfie seekers before arriving at the elegant staircase leading into the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. Built in the style of yesteryear’s grand movie houses, the theater provided a glamorous backdrop for TIFF’s Opening Ceremony.
 

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Among the international guests on the carpet were French superstar Juliette Binoche, at TIFF with her directorial debut, In-I In Motion; Oscar®-winning director Paul Schrader, in town for the Japan premiere of his 1985 masterpiece Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters; Malaysian director Chong Keat Aun and three stars of his Competition selection Mother Bhumi, Fan Bingbing, Natalie Hsu and Bai Run-yin; Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Mothertongue) with actors Bai Baihe, Wang Chuanjun and Liu Dan; Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Morte Cucina), actor Bella Boonsang and renowned cinematographer Christopher Doyle; Taiwanese director Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu (Double Happiness) with stars Liu Kuan-ting and Jennifer Yu; Azerbaijani director Hilal Baydarov (Sermon to the Void) and actors Huseyn Nasirov, Maryam Naghiyeva and Elshan Abbasov; Korean director Roh Young-wan and actor Choi Gang-hyun (Halo); Tibetan director Kangdrun (Linka Linka) and actors Tsering Yangkyi and Ze Ren Dun Zhu; and Chinese director/producer Peter Ho-sun Chan.
 
The many Japanese celebrities appearing included 38th TIFF Festival Navigator Takiuchi Kumi; Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Yoshinaga Sayuri (star of Climbing for Life, TIFF’s Opening Film), along with the film’s director Sakamoto Junji and actor Non; Cannes and TIFF Kurosawa Akira Award-winning director Fukada Koji (Love on Trial) with actors Saito Kyoko, Kura Yuki and Tsuda Kenjiro; Uchida Eiji (Night Flower) and actors Kitagawa Keiko and Morita Misato; Bring Him Down to a Portable Size director Nakano Ryota with actors Shibasaki Ko and Mitsushima Hikari; director Nakagawa Ryutaro (Echoes of Motherhood) with auteur Kawase Naomi, who appears in the film, as well as actors Fukuchi Momoko and Kanichiro; director Sakashita Yuichiro (Blonde) and actors Iwata Takanori and Shiratori Tamaki; and director Fujimoto Akio and producer Watanabe Kazutaka of Lost Land, the first-ever Rohingya-language film.
 
The final red carpet appearance was by the members of the esteemed International Competition jury: Jury President Carlo Chatrian, Taiwanese actor Gwei Lun-Mei, French editor Matthieu Laclau, Japanese actor-filmmaker Saitoh Takumi and Chinese director-producer Vivian Qu.
 
The Opening Ceremony then got underway inside the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, with welcoming remarks by 38th TIFF Festival Navigator and actor Takiuchi Kumi, who commented, “I’ve been coming to TIFF every year since my acting debut, and I’m very excited to be here serving as the Festival Navigator this year.”
 
State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ino Toshiro then delivered opening remarks. “I am truly delighted to see that so many guests from Japan and overseas have once again come for the Tokyo International Film Festival, and I would like to extend a welcome to everyone. Recently, the film Kokuho achieved remarkable box office success, and the film’s influence has also heightened interest in Kabuki itself. I’m very happy about that.”
 
As part of TIFF’s commitment to gender parity in the industry, as represented by its Women’s Empowerment section, acclaimed French actor Juliette Binoche then took the stage. She is in Tokyo to premiere her directorial debut, In-I In Motion. She was joined by Festival Navigator Takiuchi, who asked about her first-time directing experience.
 
Responded Binoche, “I think when you’re in front of a void, an empty space, and you’re making it into a film, it brings out a vulnerability, but also all the possibilities. It gives you strength, but at the same time, makes you aware of the enormous amount of work you have to do.”
 
Asked whether she had a message on the opening of TIFF, Binoche exhorted, “Go for it! Go for it with your life! Give into an art form, any art form! Being creative is so important today, especially in a time of AI and social media.”
 
Members of the Asian Future section jury, Ellen Y.D. Kim, Matsunaga Daishi and Nishizawa Akihiro, greeted the audience from their seats, before members of the International Competition jury were called on stage. Speaking on behalf of his fellow jurors, Jury President Carlo Chatrian told the audience, “Kombanwa. I’m very honored and privileged to be here at Tokyo International Film Festival with these amazing fellow jurors, in a country that’s very dear to me, a country that should be dear to anyone who loves cinema. We come with all our emotions and our different backgrounds, and after these 10 days, we will know each other a little better and the world we’re living in. We will be richer, and that’s what makes cinema so special.”
 
The audience was then treated to a trailer of Sakamoto Junji’s Climbing for Life, TIFF’s Opening Film, which follows the inspiring, true-life story of groundbreaking mountaineer Tabei Junko, the first woman ever to summit Mt. Everest. The director was joined on stage by actors Yoshinaga Sayuri and Non — both of whom play Tabei in the film.
 
Yoshinaga remarked, “We’re so grateful that this film was selected as the Opening Film of TIFF. I’m carrying a photo of Tabei Junko in my kimono obi so we can celebrate this evening together.”
 
Non enthused, “I’m so honored and delighted to be standing here with director Sakamoto and Ms. Yoshinaga. I hope you enjoy the film!”
 
Sakamoto told the audience, “I’ve been invited to many film festivals, but this is the first time my film has been selected as the Opening Film. This is a film about mountains, but it’s also a film about families and life, and I hope you enjoy it. I will continue to make the best use of my powers of imagination and hope that we do not succumb to AI.”
 
Yoshinaga, who has starred in 124 films during an illustrious career in which she won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Leading Actress a record four times, was then given TIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the film industry in Japan and internationally, the award was given to her by Jury President Carlo Chatrian.
 
Festival Chairman Ando Hiroyasu then handed the beloved actor a large bouquet and told her, “Congratulations on this award. Throughout your career, you have made huge contributions to cinema, really drawing in audiences with your performances. We are so grateful to you. You have given us all so much. This is the first time a Japanese actress has received the award since the first Tokyo International Film Festival in 1985. You mentioned at an earlier press conference that you felt as if you had reached perhaps 80 percent of the pinnacle, and you’re excited to go further. I hope you will continue making amazing work.”
 
Ever modest, Yoshinaga said, “Thank you so much. Three years ago, my beloved sempai Nogami Teruyo [longtime assistant to Kurosawa Akira] received this award, and I’m so honored. I want to continue moving forward in film and I hope you’ll all support me.”
 
As the ceremony came to an end, Chairman Ando delivered the official 38th TIFF opening declaration. “We are filled with happiness about Ms. Yoshinaga’s happiness at receiving the award, as well as for the weather, which allowed a very lively red carpet, with a 30 percent increase in guests who walked along it. I wanted to just point out that one of those guests was Mr. Paul Schrader, whose film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, has attracted a lot of attention to the festival. Thank you, Mr. Schrader.
 
“Juliette Binoche just told us to ‘Go for it!” and we on the TIFF Steering Committee support that approach. We have curated a selection of very diverse films and programs, and we hope that you all take this opportunity to watch many films next 10 days and continue to support the festival. I now pronounce the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival to be open.”
 

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TIFF’s 38th edition, running from October 27 – November 5 at venues in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of central Tokyo, will feature 184 screenings, Q&A sessions, symposia, masterclasses, TIFF Lounge talk sessions and an enormous array of allied events. The TIFF Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kurosawa Akira Award will be bestowed, as will awards to the chosen films. Fifteen titles are competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix in the festival’s International Competition, drawn from 1,970 submissions from 108 countries and regions.
 
Outline of the Opening Event and Festival Numbers
 
Date: October 27 (Wed)
Red Carpet started at 3:00 pm at Tokyo Hibiya Midtown, Hibiya Step Square
Ceremony started at 5:00 pm at Tokyo Takarazuka Theater
 
Total number of guests on the Red Carpet: 263
Number of press members covering the Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony: 207
Length of the Red Carpet: 162 meters
Number of guests attending the Opening Ceremony: 915
Number of films at the 38th TIFF: 184