The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is excited to announce this year’s Opening and Closing Films.
 
The 37th TIFF Opening Film will be the world premiere of 11 Rebels, directed by Shiraishi Kazuya and starring popular actors Yamada Takayuki and Nakano Taiga. The period film tells an intense and thrilling story based on a forgotten script by the late screenwriter Kasahara Kazuo, known for his work on series such as Nihon Kyokaku-den a.k.a. Japanese Yakuza (1964-1971) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973-1974). It has already secured distribution in North America and German-speaking regions, positioning it as a major new Japanese entertainment blockbuster. We expect this powerful film to mark a spectacular opening to the festival.
 
The TIFF Closing Film will be the French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio, directed by Christophe Honoré. The heartwarming film premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and instantly garnered attention for its unique premise, in which French actress Chiara Mastroianni, who also serves as a jury member at this year’s TIFF, plays a character who turns into her real-life father, Marcello Mastroianni. The film also features her real-life mother, Catherine Deneuve, making it even more noteworthy. Marcello Mio will be screened as the Closing Film of TIFF in the remarkable year celebrating the 100th anniversary of Marcello Mastroianni’s birth.
 
We hope you will enjoy these two films, and many others, at this year’s film festival.
 

Director: Shiraishi Kazuya; Original Story: Kasahara Kazuo
Screenplay: Ikegami Junya; Music: Matsumura Kenta
Cast: Yamada Takayuki, Nakano Taiga, Abe Sadawo
Release Date (Japan): November 1, 2024
Distribution (Japan): Toei Company, Ltd.
 
The historical betrayal by the Shibata clan of Niigata happened in the shadows of the Boshin War, the fiercest war in Japanese history. From history to the big screen, Shiraishi Kazuya’s adaptation elevates the late, great Kasahara Kazuo’s script, with riveting action by stars Yamada Takayuki, Nakano Taiga, and the talented ensemble cast. The 11-member suicide squad takes on a hopeless fortress-defense mission. When the interests of the Shibata clan, the old shogunate, and the new government collide, their heroic battle begins. The hell-bent rebels enthrall in this timeless film. The film was a participating project in the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, held last year as part of TIFFCOM, the affiliated industry market of TIFF.
 
Comment from director Shiraishi Kazuya:
I’m thrilled that our film will premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival’s opening. This is the perfect way for 11 Rebels to kick off our journey. I would like to thank TIFF. I hope you will be among the first to experience our film on the festival screen. I look forward to seeing you all there.
 
Comment from Ichiyama Shozo, 37th TIFF Programming Director:
This film inherits the tradition of ensemble period dramas that Toei once excelled at, showcasing the top-tier production values in contemporary Japanese cinema in every aspect, from action sequences to set design. It is also significant that it shines a spotlight on people who have been cast aside throughout history. I am delighted to introduce this film to the world from the Tokyo International Film Festival.
 

Director: Christophe Honoré
Cast: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Melvil Poupaud
 
This is the story of a woman named Chiara. She is an actress, the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, who one summer when her own life is in turmoil, tells herself that she would prefer to live her father’s life. She dresses like him, speaks like him, breathes like him, with such force that those around her begin to believe it and start to call her “Marcello.”
 
Comment from Ichiyama Shozo, 37th TIFF Programming Director:
This is a unique film that serves as both an homage to Marcello Mastroianni and an experimental piece, in which many French actors, including the lead Chiara Mastroianni, appear under their real names, blurring the boundary between the stars’ true selves and fiction. This film is perfect to close this year’s festival, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Marcello Mastroianni’s birth.