The 20th Tokyo International Film Festival opened in Tokyo on
Saturday as some 300 actors, directors and others walked on the red
carpet laid out on the Roppongi Hills before hundreds of fans.
Among the actors and actresses were Takao Osawa and Yuko
Takeuchi, who both appeared in Izuru Narushima's Midnight
Eagle. Some 300 films will be shown during the festival, which
runs through October 28, organizers said.
Besides its main Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix award, this year's film
festival also features such programs as "Winds of Asia", which
presents films produced in Asia and the Middle East, and "Tokyo in
Focus", which shows films set in Tokyo after World War II.
The 20th Tokyo International Film Festival has arranged a
special section for films from Hong Kong to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the metropolis' return to the motherland.
Four outstanding Hong Kong movies are to be shown in central
Tokyo's Shibuya commercial district during the 4-day section
starting on Tuesday.
Chinese actress Miao Pu at
the opening ceremony of the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival
on Saturday, October 20, 2007.
A festival organizer wrote on the official website that Hong
Kong, the "Oriental Hollywood," is gathering the spotlight in
international film circles and the Hong Kong section marks the
pulse of the development of the city's film industry.
The setup of the Hong Kong section showed the Tokyo
International Film Festival's increasing awareness about and
interest in Chinese-language films, analysts said.
Films from Hong Kong have been popular recently in Japan's
pan-capital region, with some famous movies such as Kungfu
guaranteeing an abundant box office income.
Chinese actress Fan
Bingbing at the opening ceremony of the 20th Tokyo International
Film Festival on Saturday, October 20, 2007.
Feng Huang, with the Japanese star actor-and-producer
Kiichi Nakai and Chinese actress Miao Pu, was selected as the
opening film of the festival as well as one of the competitors for
top prize. It is not only a love story, but also a story that
celebrates the 35th anniversary of the normalization of ties
between Japan and China. In addition to this film, festival
organizers also arranged the "China Film Week".
More than 300 movies from around the world are waiting to be
shown at the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival during the
following eight days. A total of 15 films are candidates for the
main Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix and other awards under such themes as
"Winds of Asia" and "Tokyo in Focus."
The jury, headed by US producer Alan Ladd Jr., will announce
results of the competition on the closing day of the festival.
Feng Huang's film
crew (from L to R): Jin Chen, Miao Pu, Kiichi Nakai and Guo Tao at
the opening ceremony of the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival
on Saturday, October 20, 2007.
The jury, headed by US film
producer Alan Ladd Jr., appears at the opening ceremony of the 20th
Tokyo International Film Festival on Saturday, October 20,
2007.
Chinese filmmakers at the
opening ceremony of the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival on
Saturday, October 20, 2007.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn?October 21, 2007)
