Tokyo film festival opens
October 23rd, 2011 - 3:45 am ICT by IANS
Tokyo, Oct 23 (IANS) Nearly 1,000 films from 76 countries will be screened at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival that opened in the Japanese capital Saturday.
Jackie Chan and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing were welcomed on green carpet at the opening ceremony in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills.
Jackie Chan’s historical drama “1911″ was also the kick-off movie of the festival, Xinhua reported.
In the main competition section, 15 films will vie for the $50,000 Sakura prize, before the festival ends up with baseball drama “Moneyball” starring Brad Pitt.
The festival will also hold a day of screenings in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, which was ravaged by the March 11 tsunami.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda once again expressed his sympathies to the people affected by the twin disasters.
“At this distressing time, the emotional inspiration that a film can instil in us is more important than ever before,” Noda said in a letter to the film festival.
The event will run till Oct 30.
- Jackie Chan's 100th movie '1911' gets Sept. 26 release - Mar 19, 2011
- Mexican director's debut film competes at Tokyo festival - Oct 24, 2011
- Gulzar to get lifetime award at Mumbai film fest - Sep 20, 2011
- Japan, France agree on joint nuclear safety measures - Oct 24, 2011
- Japanese prime minister to return ancient Korean books - Oct 18, 2011
- Britain, Japan agree on joint arms project - Apr 10, 2012
- Despite Fukushima, India optimistic about n-deal with Japan - Oct 29, 2011
- Japanese finance minister Noda set to become prime minister - Aug 30, 2011
- French film 'The Artist' leads 69 Golden Globe Awards nomination - Dec 16, 2011
- Japan pledges $750 mn for Iraq's development - Nov 23, 2011
- Mallika meets Jackie Chan, again (Movie Snippets) - May 21, 2012
- Yoshihiko Noda is Japan's new PM (Lead) - Aug 30, 2011
- Literary works dominate Golden Globe nomination list - Dec 19, 2011
- Mahie's loss is Preeti's gain (Movie Snippets) - Mar 07, 2012
- Brad Pitt wants more comedy - Oct 10, 2011
Tags: brad pitt, chinese actress, coastal city, competition section, disasters, fan bingbing, international film festival, jackie chan, japanese capital, march 11, oct 30, opening ceremony, prime minister, roppongi hills, sakura, sendai, sympathies, tokyo film festival, tokyo international film festival, xinhua