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Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival

The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival.

History

In 1990, the last coal mine in the Hokkaidō mining town of Yūbari having closed, the city leaders were looking for a way to revitalize the local economy. This was the beginning of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. The festival was divided into two main programs, a prestigious international competition for young directors, and an Off Theatre program for mostly Japanese amateur, independent and first-time directors. The first year in 1990 had as a special guest, actor Jon Voight and his daughter, a young starlet named Angelina Jolie. In 1993, Quentin Tarantino was at the festival and wrote part of the screenplay for Pulp Fiction in his hotel room. Some years later, he paid homage to the town in the name of a character in ', "Gogo Yubari". In 1996 the festival also had special guest stars, comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. In 2004 the festival drew a record audience of 27,000.

The festival had always been financially sponsored by the city of Yubari, but the town filed for bankruptcy in 2007, leading to the cancellation of that year's festival. However, the people of Yubari, with the assistance of several sponsors, were able to come together to revive the festival in 2008. Although the international competition section of the festival had to be dropped, the Off Theatre program for young Japanese directors was retained, with the Grand Prize offering 2 million yen (approximately $20,000) to the winner. The new Governor's Award was presented by the Governor of Hokkaidō. In addition to the competition section, the festival continued to screen a number of international films by promising directors. One of the sponsors for the festival is the giant Japanese satellite broadcasting company SKYPerfecTV! which has also broadcast parts of the program. The scaled down 2008 festival drew more than 8,800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009.

The 32nd edition of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival will be held from July 28 to August 1 2022.

A new scholarship system will be established in 2023 (unilaterally "abolished" on the official website on November 22, 2024).

In 2024, Yubari Fanta, the NPO that had been in charge of the operation, announced that it would suspend its activities due to the issue of unpaid prize money from before 2023 coming to light, and the Yubari Volunteer Association said that Kei Nakata would be the representative. hosts a film festival. The event will be held at two geographically separated venues: Hostel Himawari in Yubari City and Hotel Paradise Hills in Kuriyama Onsen, Kuriyama Town. Yubari City Hall has decided not to accept requests for sponsorship (nominal sponsorship) for the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and has notified the organizers of the event, failing to provide an overall picture of the project and unclear who is the representative of the organization, including past achievements and responsibilities. It did not meet the city's standards in terms of structure and other aspects.

Many problems arose during the session. Film producer Maki Tsuchida, who was one of the final judges, died suddenly at the Kuriyama Onsen Hotel Paradise Hills in the early hours of December 25th, and the fact is being kept secret. Subtitles will not be added to foreign films. Trouble arises regarding accommodation expense assistance, non-payment of illustration orders, etc. In addition, sloppy financial management and operations were revealed.

Major awards

Award information from:

1990 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1990.

  • Grand Prize
Ofelas – Director: Nils Gaup
  • Special Prize
Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds – Director: Alex Proyas

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Takeshita Performance Higei Mito-Komon – Director: Sinya Takesita
  • Special Prize
Gig – Director: Kosuke Ienaga
  • Toroma Prize
Meilin Adventure – Director: Satoshi Imai

1991 Awards

Held February 15–19, 1991.

  • Grand Prize
The Miracle in Valby (Miraklet i Valby) – Director: Åke Sandgren
  • Special Jury Prize
Windwalker – Director: Kieth Merrill
  • Critic's Award
Miller's Crossing – Director: Joel Coen

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Death Express – Director: Hiroyuki Terada
  • Jury Prize
Rice Game – Director: Hideaki Kobayashi

1992 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1992.

  • Grand Prize
The Swordsman in Double Flag Town – Director: He Ping
  • Special Jury Prize
' – Director:
  • Critic's Award
' – Director: Shinya Tsukamoto

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Diamonds Moon – Director: Akira Nobi
  • Jury Prize
Kappas – Director: Katsuya Ohsawa

1993 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1993.

  • Grand Prize
Children of Nature – Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
  • Special Jury Prize
Winds of God – Director: Yoko Narahashi
  • Critic's Award
Reservoir Dogs – Director: Quentin Tarantino
  • Citizen's Award
Ninja Scroll – Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Trash – Director: Naoki Kubo
  • Jury Prize
My Daddy Long Legs – Director: Shin Yasuhara

1994 Awards

Held February 18–22, 1994.

  • Grand Prize
Killing Zoe – Director: Roger Roberts Avary
  • Special Jury Prize
C'est arrive pres de chez vous – Director: Rémy Belvaux & André Bonzel
  • Minami Toshiko Award / Critic's Award
Carne – Director: Gaspar Noé
  • The Most Entertaining Award
El Mariachi – Director: Robert Rodriguez

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Family Time – Director: Ryota Kawaguchi
  • Jury Prize
My Favorite "Skyline" – Director: Shin Yasuhara
Vending Machine and a Girl – Director: Kiyohide Otani

1995 Awards

Held February 17–21, 1995.

  • Grand Prize
Tombés du ciel – Director: Philippe Lioret
  • Special Jury Prize
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb – Director: Dave Borthwick
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Wizard of Darkness – Director: Shimako Sato

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
The Incredible Haniwa Man – Director: Shin Yasuhara
  • Jury Prize
Anatomia Extinction – Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
A Room Without Wind – Director: Ryuta Miyake

1996 Awards

Held February 18–20, 1996.

  • Grand Prize
Accumulator 1 – Director: Jan Svěrák
  • Special Jury Prize
Manneken Pis – Director: Frank Van Passel
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Secret Waltz – Director: Akira Nobi

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Brain Holiday – Director: Hineki Mito
  • Jury Prize
Blood Red Girls – Director: Daisuke Yamanouchi
  • Encouragement Prize
Rest Room – Director: Muneyoshi Murakami
To Be or Not to Be – Director: Tomoko Matsunashi

1997 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1997.

  • Grand Prize
Closing Time – Director: Masahiro Kobayashi
  • Special Jury Prize
Little Sister – Director: Robert Jan Westdijk
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Drive – Director: Steve Wang

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Party – Director: Mayumi Uchiumi
  • Jury Prize
L&D – Director: Hideki Kimura

1998 Awards

Held February 13–17, 1998.

  • Grand Prize
Bernie – Director: Albert Dupontel
  • Jean-Hugues Anglade Award
Detective Riko – Director: Satoshi Isaka
  • Adventure Film Prize
The Ground – Director: Atsushi Muroga
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Illtown – Director: Nick Gomez

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Midnight Three – Director: Yasushi Koshizaka
  • Special Jury Prize
Variation for Movements – Director: Yoshinao Sato
  • Encouragement Prize
Kurushime Girl – Director: Noboru Iguchi

1999 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1999.

  • Grand Prize
Bandits – Director: Katja von Garnier
  • Special Jury Prize / Minami Toshiko Award
Moonlight Whispers – Director: Akihiko Shiota

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Tel-Club – Director: Kenji Murakami
  • Special Jury Prize
Kiadoryoku REAL – Director: Katsushi Boda

2000 Awards

Held February 18–22, 2000.

  • Grand Prize
Across a Gold Prairie – Director: Isshin Inudou
  • Special Jury Prize
Pups – Director: Ash
  • Minami Toshiko Award
' – Director: Hiroyuki Okiura

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Hazy Life – Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
  • Special Jury Prize
Let's Go Strawberry Girl – Director: Shinobu Kuribayashi

2001 Awards

Held February 15–19, 2001.

  • Grand Prize
New Year's Day – Director: Suri Krishnamma
  • Special Jury Prize
Animals – Director: Michael Di Jiacomo
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Siam Sunset – Director: John Polson

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Tokyo A Go Go – Director: Ryuichi Honda
  • Special Jury Prize
L'Ilya – Director: Tomoya Sato

2002 Awards

Held February 14–18, 2002.

  • Grand Prize
My Sassy Girl – Director: Kwak Jae-yong

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Run! Yamazaki! Run! – Director: Naoko Johnori
  • Special Jury Prize
Nuts – Director: Yoko Chukira / Tomokazu / Shu Kageyama

2003 Awards

Held February 13–17, 2003.

  • Grand Prize
Battlefield Baseball (Jigoku Koushien) – Director: Yūdai Yamaguchi

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Bijo-can – Director: Masaya Kakei
  • Special Jury Prize
Ski Jumping Pairs – Director: Riichiro Mashima

2004 Awards

Held February 19–23, 2004.

  • Grand Prize
Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise – Director: Kim Ji-hoon
  • Special Jury Prize
Robot Stories – Director: Greg Pak
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Better Than Sex – Director: Su Chao-pin & Lee Feng-bor

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
The Far East Apartment – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
  • Special Jury Prize
Utsu-musume SAYURI – Director: Takashi Kimura

2005 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2005.

  • Grand Prize
My Mother, the Mermaid – Director: Park Heung-sik
  • Special Jury Prize
Innocence – Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
  • Minami Toshiko Award
The Neighbor No. Thirteen – Director: Yasuo Inoue

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Mariko's 30 Pirates – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
  • Special Jury Prize
Be the World for Her – Director: Daisuke Hosaka

2006 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2006.

  • Grand Prize
Blood Rain – Director: Kim Dae-seung
  • Special Jury Prize
Never Belongs to Me – Director: Nam Ki-woong
  • Minami Toshiko Award
Citizen Dog – Director: Wisit Sasanatieng

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Raw Summer (Nama-natsu) – Director: Keisuke Yoshida
  • Special Jury Prize
Hakko – Director: Madoka Kumagai

2007 Awards

No awards - festival cancelled.

2008 Awards

Held March 19–23, 2008.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
– Director: Tsuki Inoue
  • Special Jury Prize
– Director: Kouta Yoshida
  • Governor's Award
– Director: Kenji Itoso & Hiroshi Kamebuchi

2009 Awards

Held February 26-March 2, 2009.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
– Director: Yū Irie
  • Special Jury Prize
– Director: Ōhata Hajime
  • Governor's Award
– Director: Choi Uian (チェ・ウィアン)

2010 Awards

Held February 25-March 1, 2010.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
– Director: Yōsuke Okuda
  • Special Jury Prize
– Director: Tomoya Maeno
  • Governor's Award
– Director: ヒョン・スルウ
  • Cinegar Award
– Director: Tomoya Maeno

2011 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2011.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Invasion of Alien Bikini (겨울냄새) – Director: Oh Young-Doo
  • Special Jury Prize
– Director: Kazuya Ogawa
  • Governor's Award
– Director: Takayuki Ishihara
  • Cinegar Award
– Director: Kazuya Ogawa

2012 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2012 with a total attendance at 12,500.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
– Director: Takahiro Ishihara
  • Special Jury Prize
– Director: Taichi Suzuki
  • Governor's Award
– Director: Yuichiro Sakashita
  • Cinegar Award
– Director: Taichi Suzuki
  • Best Actress
Nahana for
  • Best Actor
Hiroki Konno for
  • Audience Award
- Director: Hideki Oka
  • Event Award
Namba Kinyu-den Minami no Teio Toichi no Manda Ginjiro - Director: Takaaki Haginiwa
  • Public Award
  • Public People Award
– Director: Taichi Suzuki

2013 Awards

Held February 21–25, 2013. Attendance was about 12,500.

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda
  • Special Jury Prize
A Case of Eggs - Director: Yuri Kanchiku
  • Governor's Award
Winter Alpaca - Director: Yuji Harada
  • Cinegar Award
There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda

2014 Awards

Announced March 2, 2014

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba
  • Special Jury Prize
Gun Woman - Director: Mitsutake Kurando
  • Governor's Award
School Girls' Gestation - Director: Ueda Atsushi
  • Cinegar Award
The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba
  • Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award
Old Men Never Die - Director: Wang Cheol-min (South Korea)

2015 Awards

Announced on February 24, 2015

OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

  • Grand Prize
Makeup Room - Director: Kei Morikawa
  • Special Jury Prize
The Limit of Sleeping Beauty - Director: Ninomiya Ken
  • Governor's Award
Haman - Director: Tetsuya Okabe
  • Cinegar Award
Mizo - Director: Nam Ki Woong (South Korea)
  • Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award
Luv ya Hun! - Director: Daigo Matsui

See also

References

Sources