President of the International Competition Jury
Roger Corman
Director/Producer
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Born in Detroit in 1926, Roger Corman sold his first screenplay, entitled Highway Dragnet, to Allied Artists and served as associate producer on the film in 1953. With the proceeds of the sale he made The Monster from the Ocean Floor the following year, his first film as an independent producer, on the remarkable budget of $18,000.
Corman began producing a wide array of low-budget features for American International Pictures; all were extremely successful. With this string of box office hits to his credit, Corman began to procure larger budgets. Throughout the 1960s, Corman's cycle of Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe horror films earned him international acclaim. Always a trendsetter, Corman made the first "biker" movie with Wild Angels. Starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra, the film opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival to great acclaim. Corman also began the late 60’s “psychedelic” film craze in 1967 with The Trip, written by and starring Jack Nicholson. As American International Pictures' primary director, Corman's success built the company into a major force in Hollywood.
In 1970s, Corman founded his own production and distribution company, New World Pictures, which became the largest independent motion picture company providing the public with fast-paced entertainment or cult films. At the same time the company presented such high-quality foreign films as Academy Award-winning films by Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, and Werner Herzog.
In 1983, Corman sold New World Pictures to produce more movies with larger budgets, and announced the formation of his new company, Concorde-New Horizons. Concorde's releases include the critically acclaimed Reflections in the Dark, starring Mimi Rogers and Billy Zane, and Paul Anderson's Shopping.
In 1990, Roger Corman wrote (with Jim Jerome) his autobiography "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime", published by Random House. In 2009, Corman received an Honorary Oscar of Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers.”
International Competition Jury
Luc Roeg
Producer
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Born in 1962. Producer Luc Roeg is an outstanding figure in the British film industry and CEO of production and International sales outfit, Independent. He most recently produced the Tolstoy-based film Boxing Day which had its World Premiere at Venice this year. Prior to this, Luc was the producer on the critically acclaimed adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel We Need to Talk about Kevin , directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. The film had its world premiere in competition in Cannes and won the Best British Film Award at the London Critic's Circle. It was also nominated for three BAFTAs, including Outstanding British Film. The film was distributed in Japan through The Klockworx Co.
Prior to this, Roeg produced and executive produced numerous features including Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice, David Cronenberg’s Spider, Bernard Rose’s Kreutzer Sonata, Oliver Parker’s Othello and Nicolas Roeg’s Two Deaths. Prior to Independent, Roeg was Head of Independent Film Europe at the William Morris Agency, UK. Previously, he was one of the founders of Vivid Productions, where he produced Tom Waits’ Big Time and Peter Medak’s Let Him Have It.
His first contact with the world of cinema was as a child, starring in his father Nicolas Roeg’s seminal film Walkabout.
Yojiro Takita
Director
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Born in 1955 in Toyama prefecture. Directed No More Comics in 1986, which was screened at New Directors/New Films in MoMA and the Cannes Film Festival to high acclaim. He gained popularity over works such as The Yen Family (1988), Let’s Go to the Hospital (1990), We Are Not Alone (1992), DADDY'S LAST RUN (1999), Secret (1999), The Yin-Yang Master (2001), ASHURA (2005), The Battery -Future in Our Hands- (2006), and Sanpei the Fisher Boy (2009). His When the Last Sword is Drawn won 2002 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and was nominated for Director of the Year. His Departures (2008) won 103 awards both in Japan and overseas, starting with the Grand Prix at the World Film Festival in Montreal and including Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and Director of the Year. In 2009, he won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and held an Oscar in his hand. His latest film is TENCHI: THE SAMURAI ASTRONOMER (2012), which is a film adaptation of a novel by Tow Ubukata about Santetsu Yasui, who created the traditional Japanese calendar and starred by Junichi Okada. He has directed 45 films so far.
Emanuele Crialese
Director/Writer
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Born in 1965. Emanuele Crialese is a Roman film director of Sicilian origins. In 1991 he moved to the U.S. to study film directing at New York University where he obtained his degree in 1995. After a number of short films he made his feature film debut in 1997 with Once We Were Strangers , in New York. With the film, Crialese was the first Italian filmmaker invited to attend the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition and won several prizes worldwide. Crialese then decided to return to Italy and met international success; he won Critics’ Week Grand Prix in Cannes with his first Italian work Respiro (2002), shot on Lampedusa Island in Sicily, with Vincenzo Amato and Valeria Golino. In 2006 he directed Nuovomondo , once again with Vincenzo Amato and Charlotte Gainsbourg, which examines the question of emigration to the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century. It won the Silver Lion at the 63rd International Venice Film Festival. The film was presented in the U.S. by Martin Scorsese and was Italy's submission for the 79th Academy Awards.
Crialese’s latest work, Terraferma (2011), won the Grand Jury Prize at the 68th Venice Film Festival and was rewarded by the Toronto Film Critics Association (FIPRESCI) in June 2012. It was also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
Kyoko Heya
Production Designer
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Born in Hiroshima city, Hiroshima prefecture, and graduated from Musashino Art University. She was awoken to film art when she worked part-time as an art assistant at Tsuburaya Productions while at university. After graduation, she worked as an art assistant for Jerry London's SHOGUN, Kinji Fukasaku's Legend of the Eight Samurai, Seijun Suzuki's Kagero-za, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Yoshishige Yoshida's Wuthering Heights, Akira Kurosawa's Dreams and Rhapsody in August as well as others, before making a debut as an art director in Masayuki Suo's Sumo Do, Sumo Don't in 1992. She was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize’s Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction ten times and won the awards for Shall We Dance? and I Just Didn't Do It. Her other main works include Rampo, Kappa, The Friends (Natsu no Niwa) , The Yin-Yang Master, The Yin-Yang Mater II, Jubaku: Spellbound, The Choice of Hercules, Year One in the North, When the Last Sword is Drawn, A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies, The Glorious Team Batista, Suspect X, HANAMIZUKI ～May your love bloom for a hundred years, The Lightning Tree, Girls’ Compass, WANKO - The Story of Me, My Family and My Dog and Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer. In 2008 she was awarded the Hiroshima Citizen Commendation (Hiroshima Citizen's Award). In 2009 she launched and represented "Damah Film Festival In Hiroshima". In April and May 2012 she planned and produced "100 Years of Kaneto Shindo" where his 48 films were screened.
Harumi Nakayama
Cinema Journalist
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Born in Ibaraki, Japan. After graduating Ritsumeikan Univ., Nakayama belonged to Nikkan Sports News in Osaka, covering entertainment business. She became a freelance movie journalist in 1996, and visits international festivals including Cannes, Venice, Rotterdam, San Sebastian every year for coverage. Currently she is writing for Cinematoday, Kyodo 47 News, Daily Sports and Nihon Eiga Navi.
Koichi Kawakami
Director of Photography
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Born in 1946. Kawakami started his career in the film industry as a freelance assistant cameraman in 1969. In 1978, he made his debut as a director of photography with the film Third . He won many awards including the new face award of the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts, the Miura award, the Japanese Film Technology Awards and so on for Shiki, Natsuko (1980), and also won the best cinematographer at the Mainichi Film Awards in 1992 and 2006.
Lim Kah Wai
Director
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Born in 1973 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He graduated from Osaka University in 1998. He studied directing at Beijing Film Academy. After working as an assistant director, he directed his first feature film After All These Years in 2009 which was selected for several film festivals. Magic & Loss was his second feature film. His third feature film New World won two prizes in CO2.
Kyoichiro Murayama
Film Critic
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Born in 1947. A freelance film critic and film researcher. Currently, he writes reviews for film magazines and newspapers. He also teaches film history and visual theory at universities and professional schools. From 1993 to 2003, he served on the Pre-selection Committee for the YIDFF International Competition. His books and translations include “Loach on Loach”, and “Critical Words for Film History”.
Yoshihiro Fukagawa
Director
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Born in 1976. His graduation work at Tokyo Visual Arts, Zenryoku Bonbaie! (1999) won awards including Mito Mayor’s Prize at Mito Short Film Festival. Giant Nakimushi (1999) and Bicycles and High Heels (2000) won prizes at Pia Film Festival for two years consecutively. His first theatrical feature film, Wolf Girl (2005), and Peeping Tom (2007) were selected for the Japanese Eyes section at the TIFF. His recent works include Dear My Love (2009), Into the White Night (2011), In His Chart (2011) and Girl (2012).
Genki Kawamura
Film Producer
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Born in 1979 and joined Toho Co., Ltd. in 2001. He planned and produced big hits such as Train Man (2005), Ski Jumping Pairs: Road to TORINO 2006 (2006) and Detroit Metal City (2008) among others. His 2010 films, Villain and Confessions , were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Kinema Jumpo Best 10 and swept Japan Academy Prizes. He was selected for the “Next Generation Asia 2010” by The Hollywood Reporter, and in 2011, he became the youngest winner of the Fujimoto Prize. He has also produced Love Strikes! , Space Brothers , The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki .
Yukichi Shinada
Film Critic, Professor Emeritus of Tama Art University
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Born in Hokkaido, 1930. After graduated Hokkaido University, Shinada became a member of the editorial staff of “Kinema Jumpo.” After the chief editor of “Movie Review,” started as a freelance film critic, in 1965. Teaching part-time at Atomi Junior College, Musashino Women’s University, University of the Sacred Heart, he became a professor and the dean of faculty of Tama Art University from 1989 to 2000, and currently the professor emeritus. He took part in a number of international film festivals as a jury member including Berlin, Moscow and Tashkent.
Masako
Model/Actress
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Born in Nihombashi, Tokyo. A model appearing in quality magazines, commercials and other media. She also appeared on screen as an actress, such as Figaro Stories (1991), Ring (1998), Ring2 (1999), Ring 0 : Birthday (2000), Sayonara Color (2004). She also writes essays, columns and film reviews. Currently she writes for a movie website “Cinemacafe”.
Tom Yoda
Chairman, Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF & TIFFCOM)
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Tom Yoda heads T.Y. Limited, GAGA Corporation, Dreamusic and T.Y. Entertainment, as well as serves on the board of directors for T-Joy Co. Ltd.
He was appointed chairman of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF & TIFFCOM) in March 2008.
Among his public responsibilities, he contributes to the Japan Business Federation as a Policy Board member/ Chairman of the Subcommittee on Entertainment and Content. He also serves as Executive Director of the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO), Deputy Chairperson of Executive Committee for Japan International Contents Festival (CoFesta), and as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee for 2012 "Friendship Year for Japan-China People-To-People Exchanges".
After serving as director of Sansui Electric, Yoda established Thomas Yoda Limited (later renamed T.Y. Limited) in March 1988 and he moved into the entertainment-content business at Tokyo-based record label Avex, where he was Chairman/CEO from 1995 until August 2004.
Tom Yoda was born in Nagano, Japan in 1940.
