From a first-time director who cold-messaged Oscar winner Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s cinematographer to a former hunter whose film caught the eye of Carlos Reygadas, the filmmakers of Tokyo’s Nippon Cinema Now section shared the unexpected connections behind their work at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Tokyo International Film Festival (Credits: Variety)
The “How We Make Films” panel at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, moderated by TIFF programming director Ichiyama Shozo, brought together five directors with radically different features: Ueda Shinichiro (“Earthlings in Love”), Saito Kisin (“Kefi”), Natori Satoshi (“Chihiro | Akemi”), Matsumura Shingo (“Between Us”), and Yaza Takenoshin (“Hinotama: Ball of Fire”).
Nippon Cinema Now Directors Share Unexpected Connections at Tokyo Film Festival
The panel highlighted how unconventional paths can lead to the screen. One debut director reached out directly to the cinematographer behind Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning work, landing a collaborator most first-timers could only dream of. Another filmmaker, a former hunter, found his project drawing interest from Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas, who floated the idea of a collaboration.
Those stories capture the spirit of the Nippon Cinema Now section, which spotlights emerging Japanese filmmakers and the often surprising routes their films take from idea to festival premiere. The five features on the panel span genres and backgrounds, from microdrama roots to deeply personal documentaries.
Tokyo International Film Festival 2026: A Platform for New Japanese Cinema
TIFF’s Nippon Cinema Now strand has become a key launchpad for new Japanese voices, and this year’s panel underscored how much of filmmaking still runs on chance encounters, bold messages, and unexpected champions.
For the directors on stage, the festival is more than a premiere — it is where connections made in passing can shape a career. As the 39th edition of TIFF continues, the section’s filmmakers leave with new audiences and, in at least two cases, stories of mentorship that began in the most unlikely ways.
Also Read: One Cut of the Dead Director Ueda Shinichiro Turns Microdrama Into Tokyo Feature Earthlings in Love
Source: Variety — read the full story there.
