In the five years since Hiroyasu Ando took sole charge of the Tokyo International Film Festival, the progress made under the energetic octogenarian former diplomat has been palpable. Despite the distinctly inauspicious start to its first full-fledged event taking place under the cloud of a global pandemic, the Tokyo festival is now generating more buzz than it has in decades.
The increase in the number of world premieres, international guests and side events, as well as the move to the more accessible and atmospheric Hibiya-Ginza-Yurakucho districts, helps to strengthen the visibility and influence of the festival. However, Ando doesn’t seem willing to rest on his laurels, determined to keep growing, attracting more local moviegoers and strengthening the event’s impact beyond cinema.
Ando sat down with The Hollywood Reporter as this year’s edition got underway, he shared his thoughts on what the festival was doing and what still needed to be done.
Do you think the festival got off to a good start, even though you were competing for attention with President Trump’s arrival on the opening night of the event?
So far, so good. I was afraid of the overlap, but luckily it worked. As I said at the opening ceremony, it rained this weekend and I was worried because we had the red carpet on Monday. But the weather was nice and we had a lot of attention. Japanese media, especially television, widely reported on it, showing the movie stars and directors present. Ticket sales have been strong so far. This year, we are receiving many movie stars from Japan and abroad. I just returned from the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for director Yōji Yamada. His film Tokyo Taxis is the centerpiece of the festival this year, starring Chieko Baisho and Takuya Kimura. They were both present, it was a wonderful party.
It’s amazing that he’s still making films at 91.
Exactly. Although he is best known for Tora-san [Yamada wrote and directed 46 of the 48 Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It’s Tough Being a Man) films about an unlucky-in-love peddler from 1965 to 1995] he made many great films about post-war Japan and how people lived. It is also a living dictionary of Japanese cinema. He has trained many young filmmakers and also has a deep interest in world cinema. This is why we chose to pay tribute to him this year. Yamada-san previously received the festival’s first Akira Kurosawa Prize in 2004, alongside Steven Spielberg.
The other lifetime achievement award went to Sayuri Yoshinaga, right?
Yes, I presented it to him during the opening ceremony. His film was also the opening film. In fact, our three main films – the opening, the centerpiece and the closing – each focus on women. The opening film is about the first woman to climb Everest; the centerpiece, Tokyo Taxischronicles an elderly woman’s journey from her home to a nursing home; and the closing film is Hamnet, directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, about Shakespeare’s wife. We did it intentionally: women’s empowerment is one of this year’s main themes.
You signed this 5050×2020 [Cannes-led gender equality] promised a few years ago? Have you revealed new figures for the organization of the festival?
Yes. Among all staff, women made up 56.8 percent last year and 57.3 percent this year. For management positions, the ratio increased from 30.8 percent to 33.3 percent. It is gradually increasing and women now represent more than half of our workforce.
What impact do you think these efforts have beyond the festival?
Well, we have Japan’s first female prime minister. I hope our international film festival has contributed to some extent in the selection of a woman prime minister (laughs). I think society is putting more emphasis on women and we want to contribute to this progress.
You also talked about contributing to harmony through cinema. In reality, what impact can a festival or films have in this sense?
It’s true that it’s difficult to measure. But all over the world, divisions – social, political, international – are growing. Cinema can promote dialogue between people from different backgrounds, ideologies or cultures. The films show different perspectives; by looking at them and discussing them, we build mutual understanding. We are also encouraging more exchanges this year through the festival fair, with small and large gatherings almost every day to allow guests from Japan and abroad to meet and chat.
You’ve already said that one of the challenges is reaching the general public. Many Tokyo residents still don’t realize the festival is happening.
Yes, this is my current assignment. We need to reach not only moviegoers, but also ordinary people. Many see the red carpet on television but don’t really think about coming to see the films. We need to make it more open, not just for industry insiders or celebrities. This is something I still need to improve on.
Besides women’s empowerment, what other initiatives stand out this year?
We launched a new program: the Asian Film Student Conference. We have invited 15 films from film school students from across Asia and will award an award to one of them. Students came to Tokyo for seminars, masterclasses and visits to film-related sites. This is part of our commitment to encouraging young filmmakers in Asia.
Do you think you have progressed in the international visibility of the festival?
Yes. The number of films in preview has increased, particularly in the competition section. This is partly explained by the fact that the festival is gaining notoriety internationally. More and more people overseas are paying attention to it and want to come to Tokyo. For example, Juliette Binoche was kind enough to come this year. We are moving forward step by step. As the Chinese proverb says: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Budgets are always a challenge, but you’ve managed to increase yours, haven’t you?
Yes, by about 30% since I started in 2020. At the time, the budget was about 780 million yen ($4.7 million); this year, it’s just over 1 billion yen ($6.6 million). But hotel and plane ticket prices have gone up, so it’s still difficult. Getting sponsorships is a big part of my job; we added eight new businesses this year.
There has been talk of changing the dates of the festival, is this still on the table?
It’s not easy. We take place from late October to early November, but Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian have already screened many of the best films. Moving earlier would be nice, maybe July, but it’s too hot and it overlaps with summer vacation. Plus, our government budget is finalized in March, so we can’t start planning soon enough. This is something we will continue to discuss. But it’s the best season in Japan: comfortable and dry.
Not yet considering retiring?
Nobody knows (laughs).
