37. Tokyo International The Film Festival got off to an unforgettable start Monday night with the world premiere of filmmaker Shiraishi Kazuya’s frenetic and wildly bloody samurai action movie. 11 Rebels.

Japan’s leading cinema event in recent years trying to revitalize and rebrand itself As a cultural event not to be missed Asia-Pacific region. After years of organizational drift, the festival, led by current president Hiroyasu Ando, ​​is on a mission to better align its reach and reputation with the country’s strong cinematic past and the growing appeal of Japanese culture around the world. .

In this sense, 11 Rebels was perhaps the perfect choice for this year’s opening gala screening. A retrograde samurai massacre, the film is based on a decades-old screenplay by the late, great screenwriter Kasahara Kazuo, known for the cult classic yakuza movie. Dishonorable Wars and Humanity (1973). During more than 2.5 hours of working time, 11 Rebels features a series of rising young Japanese stars, relentless swordplay, improvised explosives, some very sharp beheadings and a complex plot involving political intrigue and more than a few scams.

Produced by Toei 11 Rebels It opens theatrically in Japan on November 1, with a US release expected next year from exclusive distributor Well Go USA.

The entire cast of the film walked the red carpet in Japan’s capital’s upscale Ginza district ahead of the festival’s official opening ceremony. shogun The star that will receive it is Tadanobu Asano Hollywood Reporter‘s Pioneer award He got a hero’s welcome when he took the stage to support his independent feature film at a gala event Wednesday night ravensIt will premiere in an out-of-competition section of the festival later this week. Other local stars participating included Rinko Kikuchi (Babylon, Tokyo Vice), actress Ai Hashimoto, and director Irie Yu, who is the focus of the festival for 2024.

Notable film figures from elsewhere in Asia were also in attendance. Hong Kong cinema legends Tony Leung and Johnny To, who both serve on Tokyo’s main competition jury this year, attended, as did Sylvia Chang and Midi Z from Taiwan and Zhao Liying from mainland China.

The presence of US films was light on opening night, but the power of Hollywood stars will be felt later in the festival with Ridley Scott’s appearance. Gladiator II Its Asian premiere will be held at the event on November 5. The screening is a blow for the Tokyo festival, which used to regularly host Hollywood premieres but has hit a dry spell in the past decade as major studios shifted marketing efforts to China. It’s booming at the box office. Gladiator II Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Fred Hechinger and Connie Nielsen are also expected to attend the Tokyo screening.

At the opening ceremony of the Tokyo festival, guests were treated to welcome speeches from Ando and Kikuchi and an overview of the film’s cast, hosted by a giant anime character on a stage-hung display.

Over the past decade, it has become a tradition for the incumbent Japanese prime minister to send a statement of support for the festival. Minister of Economy and Trade Muto Yoji personally attended the ceremony and took the stage to salute the recent global interest in Japanese film and television, including last year’s Oscar-winning film. Godzilla Minus One and Disney’s hit samurai series shogun.

General elections were held in Japan over the weekend, with brutal results for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which lost its majority in the long-standing coalition. Minister Muto comfortably retained his seat in Sunday’s elections, but two of his cabinet colleagues lost their seats.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is now trying to form a new coalition government after the early elections he declared inevitable after being elected leader of the ruling party last month, sent a video message to the film festival.

Ishiba’s words were warmly welcomed by film industry dignitaries at the ceremony; because they suggested that the new administration intends to continue the national government’s recently increased interest in supporting the entertainment industry.

Drawing attention to the recently signed Japan-Italy co-production agreement, Ishiba said, “Japan’s content industry boasts semiconductor-scale exports.” “The government is trying to lay the groundwork to further promote the development of the Japanese content industry by supporting the growth of the next generation of creators and optimizing business operations,” he added.