Rolf de Heer Named Jury President for Tokyo Film Festival

Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer will serve as president of the international competition jury at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.

The Tasmania-based iconoclast has spent more than four decades directing work that spans drama, black comedy and political engagement, building a reputation as one of Australian cinema’s most singular auteurs. His 1993 cult classic Bad Boy Bubby won the Special Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Prize at Venice, while four of his films have since screened in Cannes’ official selection, including Ten Canoes, which won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize in 2006.

“For any of us attending the Tokyo International Film Festival, it is a privilege. For me, as a filmmaker, it is even more so,” de Heer said in a statement. “The more films I manage to make, the fewer films I manage to see, especially on the big screen. But as a part of this jury, I have the duty, the obligation, to see at least 15 films and talk about them with other filmmakers! And not just any old 15 films, but the 15 films in Competition, drawn from films made all over the world by all sorts of extraordinary filmmakers! And to do this in a city that plays host to one of the most formidable film cultures in the world! Can life ever get much better than this?”

De Heer’s appointment aligns nicely with Tokyo’s 2026 Australia Spotlight, a special showcase within the festival’s World Focus section presented in cooperation with the Australian Embassy in Japan. The strand will include a screening of de Heer’s 2022 feature The Survival of Kindness, which competed at the Berlin International Film Festival and later won the FIPRESCI Prize there.

Tokyo festival director Takeo Hisamatsu said in a statement: “With his distinctive perspective and unwavering commitment to filmmaking, de Heer has spent decades opening up new possibilities in cinema. We look forward to the fresh dialogue and discoveries that his wealth of experience and deep insight will bring to this year’s competition and its diverse selection of films.”

De Heer has been a festival circuit regular throughout his career. The Quiet Room (1996) and Dance Me to My Song (1998) competed at Cannes, while The Tracker (2002) screened in Venice competition. Charlie’s Country (2013), another collaboration with acclaimed Indigenous Australian actor David Gulpilil, earned Gulpilil the best actor prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2014.

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival runs Oct. 26-Nov. 4, with TIFFCOM taking place Oct. 28-30.