KIFF Finding Its Distinct Voice

In Japan film festivals are often seen by outsiders as a congested pack where each try hard to get its distinct voice heard far and wide. However, except for a handful of festivals like the Tokyo International, the majority of forty plus film festivals end up being also in the group that failed to attract wide attention of the media or general audience. Hence, for a new festival to make a breakthrough is extremely difficult. This is precisely the reason that when the city of Kyoto decided to launch a brand new international film festival in 2014, there was widely held apprehension about its success.

- Monzurul Huq

Kyoto is the birthplace of Japanese film and many of the earlier pioneers of Japan’s celluloid world were closely linked to the city. Despite that glorious background, an earlier attempt to match that success in arranging a film festival did not work out well. However, now with the gap of four years, the organizers of the new festival have proven beyond doubt that whatever apprehension outsiders might have needs to be reassessed. The fourth Kyoto International Film and Art Festival (KIFF), which was wrapped up in Japan’s cultural capital on October 15, can easily be seen as a role model of what kind of festival is needed for making a breakthrough in this fast changing time of a new ear.