A Film Festival for Innovative Visual Experiences and Emerging Japanese Talent

Established in 2004 in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL was among the first to feature digital cinema. Since then, it has continued to grow by discovering and nurturing new talent, helping young filmmakers seize emerging business opportunities in the ever-evolving film industry. This year marks the 22nd edition of the festival.

 Beginning this year, the festival’s core Competition program will exclusively feature Japanese films, celebrating Japan’s next generation of visual creators. A total of 271 Japanese films were submitted for this year’s festival. Following a rigorous preliminary selection, the nominated films will be evaluated by a jury of distinguished industry professionals, who will present the awards, including the Grand Prize. In addition, the SKIP CITY AWARD will be given to a director who demonstrates strong potential in feature-length filmmaking.

 Furthermore, to comprehensively explore the new expressive possibilities of digital technology, the festival will screen vertical-format films optimized for smartphone viewing. These films will be presented on a specially installed large-format vertical screen, delivering a viewing experience unlike any other. Additionally, the special exhibition “Visual Media Through the Eyes of Digital Natives”  will explore new possibilities for creative expression enabled by cutting-edge technologies, including AI, XR (Extended Reality), and Sony’s state-of-the-art 8K camera, VENICE 2. Showcasing the digital native generation’s unique approach to visual storytelling, the exhibition invites a diverse audience, from film industry professionals to young people and families, to experience the future of visual media firsthand.

A New Generation of Talent Takes Flight

Many of the films and directors showcased at our festival have gone on to achieve remarkable success both in Japan and abroad.

Climates (2007): Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Lost Paradise in Tokyo (2009): Kazuya Shiraishi
It's All in the Fingers (2009): Kei Ishikawa
Simple Simon (2011): Andreas Öhman
Capturing Dad (2012): Ryota Nakano
Kanagawa University of Fine Arts, Office of Film Research (2013): Yuichiro Sakashita
Striking Out in Love (2013): Shingo Matsumura
Matterhorn (2014): Diederik Ebbinge
The Way He Looks (2014): Daniel Ribeiro
Antonym (2014): Natsuka Kusano
Take 8 (2016): Shinichiro Ueda
Noise (2017): Yusaku Matsumoto
The Last Suit (2018): Pablo Solarz
Siblings of the Cave (2018): Shinzo Katayama
She is Alone (2018): Natsuki Nakagawa
Cyclops (2018): Norichika Oba
Another Child (2019): KIM Yoon-seok
Midnight Traveler (2019): Hassan FAZILI
Dream of Euglena (2019): Mikiya SANADA
Sticks and Stones (2019): Takuma SATO
Lil' Buck: Real Swan (2020): Louis WALLECAN
Woman of the Photographs (2020), My Mother’s Eyes (2023), Acting for Beginners (2024): Takeshi KUSHIDA
Stay (2020): Naoya FUJITA
Luzzu (2021): Alex CAMILLERI
Psychology Counselor (2021): Zenzo SAKAI
Make the Devil Laugh (2021): Ryuichi MINO
Journey Beyond the Night (2021): Takayuki KAYANO
Till the Day I Can Laugh about My Blues (2023): Karin TAKEDA
Wandering Memories (2023): Yuta NOGUCHI
Don’t Go (2023): Daichi AMANO
Alien’s Daydream (2023): Yoshiki MATSUMOTO
Hunting Results (2023): Minami IKEMOTO
Midwives (2023): Léa FEHNER
Before It Ends (2024): Anders WALTER
The Midnight Sun (2024): Hina MURATA
Matsuzaka-san (2024): Taiyo KUROYANAGI
Tulip-chan (2024): Saki WATANABE
Life Is Snow (2024): ZHANG Yaoyuan
Lost in Reminiscence (2024): Tomohiro HIROTA

As a gateway to success for emerging filmmakers, our festival remains committed to discovering and nurturing new and as yet unknown talent and looks forward to seeing them spread their wings around the world. We hope you will experience the birth of new talent again this year with us.