Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF)

Overview

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is Japan's only FIAPF-accredited competitive international film festival. The 39th edition runs October 26 to November 4, 2026, across the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of central Tokyo. The festival is organized by UNIJAPAN and runs for 10 days, screening approximately 100 films across multiple sections. The Tokyo Grand Prix, the festival's top prize, carries an international reputation backed by FIAPF accreditation.

TIFFCOM, the affiliated content market, runs October 28 to 30, 2026, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho-Kan. TIFFCOM is the leading audiovisual content market in Asia, attracting 4,610 participants from across the globe in 2025 (a 13% increase over 2024). The market facilitates film, television, and animation deals and hosts the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM), which supports feature projects that have secured at least 60% of their budget.

For filmmakers, TIFF offers one of the few FIAPF-competitive platforms in Asia. The 2025 edition received 1,970 film submissions from 108 countries and regions. The 2025 Tokyo Grand Prix was awarded to Annemarie Jacir's Palestine 36, with the Special Jury Prize going to Rithy Panh's We Are the Fruits of the Forest.

Submission Details

Submissions open April 7, 2026, and close July 7, 2026, at noon JST. Filmmakers submit through the TIFF entry form portal. The festival does not use FilmFreeway.

Submission fees (tax included):

• Early Bird (April 7 to May 26, 2026): 3,300 JPY (approximately $21 USD)
• Regular (May 27 to July 7, 2026): 5,500 JPY (approximately $35 USD)

International Competition eligibility:

• Feature films (fiction, documentary, or animation) completed after January 1, 2026
• Running time must exceed 60 minutes
• Must be at minimum a Japan Premiere (World and International Premieres given priority)
• Japanese films must be World Premieres
• Films available on the internet, TV, VOD, DVD, or in-flight entertainment are not eligible
• Short films are not accepted in the Competition section
• Screening material must be in digital HD format with English subtitles
• Screener links must remain accessible through the end of September 2026
• If no online screener is available, two NTSC DVDs must be shipped to the TIFF office by July 7, 2026

Asian Future eligibility:

• Open to first, second, or third feature films by Asian directors (including Japan and the Middle East)
• Same submission fees and deadlines as the International Competition

Notification of selection occurs in mid-September 2026. Full regulations are available at tiff-jp.net/entry/competition2026.

Key Sections

• International Competition - the core section, featuring films from around the world competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix. Films must not have been released in Japan.
• Asian Future - a competitive section for first, second, or third features by Asian directors, including those from Japan and the Middle East
• Japanese Cinema Splash - new Japanese feature films
• World Focus - major international films screened outside competition
• Japan Now - a curated survey of contemporary Japanese cinema
• Animation - dedicated animation programming

Industry Program: TIFFCOM and TGFM

TIFFCOM is the market component of the festival, running three days during TIFF. In 2025, TIFFCOM hosted 4,610 participants with exhibitors and buyers from across Asia and beyond. The market includes:

• Content Market - exhibition booths for sales agents, production companies, and distributors
• Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) - selects approximately 23 projects that have secured at least 60% of their budget, offering one-on-one meetings with financiers, sales agents, and distributors. TGFM 2025 hosted 442 meetings over three days. Projects must be fiction features or animations over 70 minutes with Asian elements. TGFM awards include a JPY 2,000,000 Tokyo Project Award and in-kind post-production awards valued at $25,000 each from Kongchak Studio and White Light.
• Tokyo IP Market: Adaptation and Remake (TIPM) - facilitates adaptation and remake rights for Japanese IP (manga, novels, publications). In 2025, 129 business meetings were arranged.

TGFM 2026 submissions are open from May 8 to July 21, 2026. Full information at tgfm.tiffcom.jp.

What Filmmakers Should Know

TIFF is one of only two FIAPF-competitive festivals in East Asia (the other being Shanghai). This accreditation means competition wins are formally recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. The festival does not require World Premiere status for the International Competition but gives priority to World and International Premieres. Japanese films must be World Premieres.

The Asian Future section is one of the most accessible competitive platforms for emerging Asian directors. Because it accepts first, second, or third features, filmmakers compete against peers at similar career stages rather than established directors.

For filmmakers seeking industry connections, TIFFCOM provides access to Asian buyers and producers. The TGFM gap-financing market is specifically designed for projects that are close to fully funded but need the final 40% or less. The requirement that projects have 60% of budget secured means the market attracts serious, viable projects rather than early-stage concepts.

Screener quality matters. TIFF reviews films over several months, and the screener link must remain active through September 2026. Filmmakers who cannot provide a stable online screener must ship physical DVDs to the TIFF office at 15F Togeki Bldg., 4-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan. All submitted materials are not returned.

Major Awards

International Competition:

• Tokyo Grand Prix (Governor of Tokyo Award) - Best Film
• Special Jury Prize
• Award for Best Director
• Award for Best Actress
• Award for Best Actor
• Award for Best Artistic Contribution
• Audience Award - determined by viewer votes

Asian Future:

• Asian Future Best Film Award

Festival History

TIFF was founded in 1985 by UNIJAPAN and held its first edition in Tokyo. The festival received FIAPF competitive accreditation, making it one of the few festivals in Asia to hold this status. Over its 38 editions, TIFF has screened films from directors including Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Zhang Yimou, and Abbas Kiarostami.

The festival moved to its current Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza venue area in 2014, consolidating screenings in central Tokyo's cultural district. TIFFCOM was established as a separate market event and has grown into Asia's leading audiovisual content market, with the 22nd edition in 2025 drawing 4,610 participants.

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market was launched in 2020 to support projects at the financing stage, focusing on Asian-origin projects or international projects with Asian elements. TGFM has grown from a small pilot to a market hosting 442 meetings in 2025, with awards totaling over $50,000 in cash and in-kind services.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. To estimate your probability of acceptance based on festival tier and film characteristics, use the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, see YIDFF. For festival strategy guidance, see Film Festival Strategy. For Asian film market analysis, see International Film Markets.