The TIFFCOM market of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) opens on Tuesday and runs until Thursday, the day the 27th edition of the main festival kicks off with the world premiere of Disney’s Big Hero 6 as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The market is expecting 320 exhibitors and 1,100 buyers, an upward trend from the previous year, plus seminars and talks on fund raising, co-productions, location incentives and how to predict a hit movie using big data.
TIFFCOM will be in its third year of the so-called Japan Content Showcase, incorporating the Tokyo International Music Market and Tokyo International Anime Festival at its Odaiba venue. However, this is the first year the market begins before the main festival.
Animation will be a major theme this year, including the opening film, a 50-title Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) showcase and productions from Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) as Tokyo seeks to craft a clear identity for itself on the crowded festival circuit.
Apart from being a strategic event through which the ‘Japan brand’ can be promoted, the festival is also an important way of promoting cultural exchange between people from around the world.
The festival will come to a close on 31 October with the announcement of the competition winners, including the $50,000 Sakura Grand Prix, judged by a jury headed by director James Gunn.