Tokyo Film Festival 2025: "Mother Bhumi," "Morte Cucina," "We Are the Fruits of the First," "Tunnels: Sun in the Dark" | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert

"In my first dispatch from the 2025 edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, "Journey into Sato Tadao" director Terasaki Mizuho describes movies as "greetings," small, friendly gestures that introduce something essential about a place and its people to the world. Greetings are exchanged whenever travelers from different countries come together, and the spirit of introduction was very much present at Tokyo's TIFF (as opposed to the Toronto version) this year."

"New Japanese films form the core of the festival's programming: It sold out before I could get a ticket, but this year TIFF hosted the premiere of "Tokyo Taxi," the new film from prolific 94-year-old master filmmaker Yoji Yamada; the opening-night selection, the feel-good drama "Climbing for Life," was also a domestic film. My two favorite films from Tokyo this year were also both Japanese productions,"

Movies are described as greetings that introduce a place and its people. The festival prioritized new Japanese films, including premieres like Tokyo Taxi by 94-year-old Yoji Yamada and the opening-night domestic drama Climbing for Life. TIFF sold out quickly. The program emphasized pan-Asian cinema through the "Asia Now" section, which spotlights early-career directors across a region spanning Turkey to Japan. The broader lineup favored Asian titles with some North American and European films mixed in. This curation inverts typical North American festival programming and included a strong Southeast Asian presence, with three regional films in the main competition. One featured film, Mother Bhumi, screened in a large concert hall located on a shopping mall's top floor.

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