These are twenty films you shouldn’t miss at the Tokyo International Film Festival which will take place from October 23 until November 1, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.

(Ab)normal Desire by Kishi Yoshiyuki – Japan | 2023 – 134 minutes
Inagaki Goro and Aragaki Yui break new ground in this film adaptation of the bestselling novel by Asai Ryo. The film depicts what is crucial for survival in this world alongside burning passion and incentive. (TIFF 2023)

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Blue Giant by Tachikawa Yuzuru – Japan | 2023 – 120 minutes
Animated film adaptation of the popular “Blue Giant” manga series (sold over 11 million copies) , which has been described as “a manga that makes you feel like you can hear the music”. (TIFF 2023)

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Dwelling by the West Lake by Gu Xiaogang – China | 2023 – 115 minutes
Gu Xiaogang, who impressed with his debut film Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, portrays a mother and her son living amid economic turbulence in the beautiful Chinese green tea-farming landscape. (TIFF 2023)

Essential Truths of the Lake by Lav Diaz – Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, UK | 2023 – 215 minutes
Faced with Philippine President Duterte’s bloody murders and brazen lies, Lt. Hermes Papauran continues his struggle to find resolution to a 15-year-old case. John Lloyd Cruz won the best actor award at the Locarno Film Festival. (TIFF 2023)

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Green Night by Han Shuai – Hong Kong | 2023 – 92 minutes
After leaving China to forget her past and leading a repressed life with her Korean husband, Xia embarks on a thrilling adventure with a mysterious green-haired woman. (TIFF 2023)

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Ichiko by Toda Akihiro – Japan | 2023 – 126 minutes
Adaptation of stage play “Kawabe Ichiko no tameni” written and directed by Toda Akihiro. Sugisaki Hana plays Ichiko whose life is derailed by unavoidable fate. (TIFF 2023)

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In Broad Daylight by Lawrence Kan – Hong Kong | 2023 – 106 minutes
Based on true events, In Broad Daylight reveals a little-known truth about residential care homes for the disabled that hides beneath the headlines. (TIFF 2023)

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Miss Shampoo by Giddens Ko – Taiwan | 2023 – 120 minutes
Director Giddens Ko from You Are the Apple of My Eye and Till We Meet Again is back with a quirky and bittersweet gangster romance movie. (TIFF 2023)

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Redlife by Ekalak Klunson – Thailand | 2023 – 120 minutes
Youngsters living on the edge of the underworld in Bangkok. Their struggles and hopes, longing for pure love in harsh circumstances, are realistically captured in this remarkable debut film by Ekalak Klunson. (TIFF 2023)

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Roxana by Parviz Shahbazi – Iran | 2023 – 119 minutes
Director of TIFF Young Cinema Competition Gold Award winner Traveler from the South Parviz Shahbazi reveals the precarious situation of Iranian youth through a story of a man meeting an attractive woman. (TIFF 2023)

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For more information, please visit: https://2023.tiff-jp.net/en/