26 Oct – Every year Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) will feature not just local but also international stars and this year was no exception. Celebrating its 31st edition, one of the biggest stars at TIFF this year was English actor Ralph Fiennes. Fans would most likely remember the 55-year-old as Voldemort from the "Harry Potter" franchise or M from the "James Bond" franchise. Fiennes, who graced the red carpet during the film festival's opening ceremony in Roppongi Hills yesterday, is in attendance as his movie "The White Crow, which he directs and stars in, is one of the 16 movies competing at TIFF 2018.
While this year doesn't see any Southeast Asian movies competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix, there are still movies from the region highlighted in the "CROSSCUT ASIA #05 Soundtrip to Southeast Asia" section, which includes a Pete Teo Special – it features movies and music videos produced by the Malaysian musician-actor-producer-director. Of course, this means Teo also walked the red carpet, alongside other Southeast Asian representatives such as Nicholas Saputra (Indonesia), Sunny Suwanmethanont (Thailand), and Brillante Ma Mendoza (Philippines). Mendoza also acts as President of Jury this year, leading the panel of juries that consists of American producer Bryan Burk, Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan and Japanese actress Kaho Minami. The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival is currently running in its namesake city in Japan until this 3 November. Stay tuned for our photos from the red carpet of TIFF!