The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival took place from 27 October to 5 November 2025 at Yà «rakuchà Â-Marunouchi-Ginza area. The festival opened with 2025 Japanese biographical film Climbing for Life directed by Junji Sakamoto about the life of Junko Tabei. The opening was attended by the director Sakamoto, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Rena Nà Ânen, festival navigator Kumi Takiuchi, and other Japanese and international stars, including Takumi Saitoh, Misato Morita, ChinaâÂÂs Fan Bingbing and Peter Chan, and French actress Juliette Binoche.
Carlo Chatrian, Italian journalist, author and programmer will serve as the Jury President of international competition. Chloé Zhao, Chinese-born filmmaker, and Lee Sang-il, Japanese-born film director and screenwriter, were honoured with Kurosawa Akira Award for their extraordinary contributions to world cinema. Sayuri Yoshinaga, Japanese actress and activist and Yoji Yamada, Japanese film director, will be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award.
The closing ceremony was held on November 5, 2025, where the various awards were announced. Palestine 36, a 2025 historical drama written and directed by Annemarie Jacir won the Tokyo Grand Prix, while 2025 documentary film We Are the Fruits of the Forest by Rithy Panh won the Special Jury Prize. The festival closed with the screening of an AmericanâÂÂBritish co-produced historical drama Hamnet by Chloé Zhao.
The film registration for the festival began in April 2025 with the closing date for submission fixed for July 7, 2025.
Takiuchi Kumi was appointed this year's festival navigator. She will "navigate" the audience at official events as the face of the festival.
The poster unveiled on September 19, was created by Japanese graphic designer Oshima Idea in collaboration with Rikiya Imaizumi, a Japanese director. Inspired by the theme of observation and emotional connection, the poster depicts a scene set in a Tokyo café where two women discuss topics like love, war, and politics. Hoshi Moeka portrays the older woman, who complains about her boyfriend, while Ca Non, from the idol group Gang Parade, plays the younger woman who has feelings for the other woman. The poster uses black-and-white stills to reflect the subtle emotional tension between the characters.
The festival unveiled the full lineup of the 38th edition in a press conference held on October 1, 2025.
The festival concluded on November 5, 2025 with Michael Rivas as master of ceremonies. Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo was chief guest. In this edition 184 films were screened, with 69,162 admissions. 163,009 audience attended the various events held during the festival.
The juries consists of the following members:
The following venues will host the festival screenings.
The festival from this year will consist of ten main sections.
Climbing for Life by Junji Sakamoto will be opening film of the festival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Junko Tabei's Everest achievement.
The main competition has 15 films vying for Tokyo Grand Prix.
The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Gala Selection.
The following films were selected for the World Focus section, which focuses on international films.
The following films were selected to compete in the Asian Future section, which features films from Asian directors who have directed a maximum of three feature films.
The following films were selected for the Animation section.
The following films were selected for the Japanese Classics section.
The following films were selected for the Youth section.
The following television series were selected for the TIFF Series section.
The awards were announced on November 5 in the closing ceremony: