Entries are closed. Thank you for your submissions.
Concerning Competition Categories
Concerning International Competition and Japanese Film Competition
Since the festival’s inception in 2004, the competition categories have been set up to discover and nurture the next generation of filmmakers. We look for high quality and innovative films exploring new possibilities for digital expression and accept feature length submissions from all over the world in the International Competition, and feature length and short length films in the Japanese Film Competition. After the pre-selection process, the nominees are selected and screened during the festival. Through the jury process, the awards are given to the filmmakers at the closing ceremony. In the last edition, 1,246 films were submitted from 102 countries and regions.
*International Competition: Running time must be 60 minutes or longer.
*Japanese Film Competition (Feature Length): Running time must be 60 minutes or longer.
*Japanese Film Competition (Short Length): Running time must be between 15 minutes and 60 minutes.
Note: Only Japanese films are eligible for the Japanese Film Competition (Feature Length and Short Length).
Selection System and Jury
Pre-Selection
A pre-selection committee, appointed by the Festival Committee, selects the nominees.
Final Selection
The jury committee, appointed by the Festival Committee, awards the prize-winning films.
Awards Details (Tentative)
*Total Cash Prize in the 2023 festival was JPY 2,300,000.
International Competition
- GRAND PRIZE
- BEST DIRECTOR
- SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
- AUDIENCE AWARD
Japanese Film Competition
- BEST PICTURE (awarded to one feature length and to one short length film)
- AUDIENCE AWARD (awarded to one feature length and to one short length film)
*The SKIP CITY AWARD (for the director who displays strong potential and talent for filmmaking) will be awarded from all Japanese films presented in both the International Competition and Japanese Film Competition.
All the finalists are screened with 4K digital cinema projectors in state-of-the-art theaters during the festival. Many filmmakers join us from all over the world to network and interact with the audience members as well as jurors and other film industry professionals. We encourage all the filmmakers to utilize this opportunity and hope to become a springboard for emerging talent.