23 Oct – The 28th edition of the prestigious Tokyo International Film Festival made its return with stars from around the world gathering at the Roppongi Hills Arena on 22 October 2015. The festival was headlined by the Robert Zemeckis film "The Walk" and saw the attendance of the filmmaker himself and producer, Jack Rapke, minus the film's lead star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, on the red carpet. Also on the red carpet were prominent names like; "X-Men's" Bryan Singer, "True Detective" and "Beasts of No Nation's" Cary Fukunaga, A-list Hollywood actresses Hilary Swank and Helen Mirren, who are both in the country to screen their films, "You're Not You" and " Woman in Gold" respectively, for the festival run. Among the many Japanese stars who took to the carpet were former porn star turned movie actress Sora Aoi, Koji Yakusho ("Babel") and horror filmmaker Hideo Nakata ("Ring").
Among the highlights for this year's festival is the Competition section where 16 films from around the world will compete for the grand prize judged by an esteemed jury panel. This year's jury members for the International Competition section is headed by Bryan Singer ("X-Men" series) with other members made up of Tran Anh Hung ("Norwegian Wood"), Bent Hamer ("Kitchen Stories"), Nansun Shi ("The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 3D"), Susanne Bier ("After the Wedding") and Kazuki Omori ("Godzilla vs. King Ghidrah"). The Samurai Award also returns for the second time to honour the best filmmakers of the world. This time John Woo ("The Crossing") and Yoji Yamada ("The Little House") will be honoured. Where last year honoured the films of Thailand, this year's Crosscut Asia edition launched by the Japan Foundation will feature the works of Philippines. This year, filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza will be celebrated at Crosscut Asia and among the guests featured during the screenings will be the stars of his films, from "Trap", "Foster Child", "Service", "Grandmother" and "Thy Womb". A special feature entitled "Master of J-Horror" will present the works of three prominent Japanese horror film directors, Hideo Nakata ("Ring"), Takashi Shimizu ("Ju-On"), and Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Cure") at Shinjuku Piccadilly on October 28 where an all-night horror screening will be held. The festival will close on 31 October 2015 with the festival's closing film, "Terminal" by Tetsuo Shinohara. The Tokyo International Film Festival will run until 31 October 2015 at Roppongi Hills, Shinjuku Wald 9, Shinjuku Piccadilly, TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku and other theatres in Tokyo. Cinema Online is reporting live from Tokyo.