This lineup positions Tokyo Filmex as the premier gateway for Asian cinema, validating emerging talent with high-profile Oscar contenders and legendary jury members.
Insiders note the strategic timing: throwing Oscar submissions into a festival competition right before the awards season heats up creates a buzz machine for films that might otherwise get lost in the noise.
The 27th Tokyo Filmex runs Nov. 20–29 in Yurakucho. The Grand Prize winner receives JPY700,000 ($4,500). Lee Kang-sheng has appeared in every Tsai Ming-liang feature since 1992's 'Rebels of the Neon God.'
When Oscar entries compete for festival prizes, it’s not just about art—it’s about visibility, and Tokyo is turning up the heat.
The Asian film circuit is heating up, and Tokyo Filmex is making a bold play for prestige. The 27th edition of the festival, running November 20–29 in the Yurakucho district, has confirmed that Thailand’s and Nepal’s official Oscar submissions will compete in the main international competition. This is a rare move that signals the festival’s ambition to be the launchpad for awards season contenders. “9 Temples to Heaven,” directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, and “Elephants in the Fog,” by Abinash Bikram Shah, are among the ten titles vying for top honors, bringing immediate international attention to the lineup.
Adding gravitas to the jury panel is Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng, the iconic muse of auteur Tsai Ming-liang. Lee has appeared in every single feature by Tsai since “Rebels of the Neon God” in 1992, a collaboration that defines a generation of slow cinema. His presence on the three-member international jury is a statement of artistic integrity.
While the other jurors remain unnamed, Lee’s reputation suggests the panel will lean heavily into aesthetic rigor and narrative innovation, rather than just commercial viability. The stakes are clear: the Grand Prize winner’s director takes home JPY700,000 ($4,500), while the Special Jury Prize comes with JPY300,000 ($1,900). The competition itself is a showcase of emerging Asian talent, with four of the ten selections being first features. “9 Temples to Heaven” marks Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s narrative debut; he previously served as assistant director to Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
His film, which premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and won best director and best actor at Shanghai, follows a 63-year-old man dragging his family on a temple tour. Meanwhile, “Elephants in the Fog” made history as the first Nepali film in Cannes’ official selection, winning the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard. It tells the story of Pilati, a kinnar community leader investigating a missing girl when police fail to act.
Beyond the Oscar hopefuls, the festival is packed with prestige. Four titles arrive directly from Venice, including Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s “The Burning Giants” and Michelle Zhou’s debut “Big Little Things.” The closing film, Anthony Chen’s “We Are All Strangers,” completes his “Growing Up” trilogy and serves as Singapore’s Oscar entry. With screenings at Yurakucho Asahi Hall and Marunouchi Piccadilly, and a parallel Talents Tokyo program, the event is cementing its status as a critical hub for Asian cinema. For Lee Kang-sheng, this jury seat is another chapter in a career that has consistently chosen the avant-garde over the mainstream.
