The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is excited to announce the 15 titles bowing in the Gala Selection of its 39th edition, which all appear in the festival trailer that will premiere in Japanese theaters on September 18.
 
39th TIFF Official Trailer:

 
The festive 60-second trailer reveals this year’s Gala Selection, which presents high-profile films spotlighted at international film festivals and the latest Japanese blockbusters, alongside footage of the TIFF Opening Film Sukiyaki, the Centerpiece Godzilla Minus Zero, and the Closing Film Colony.
 
Gala Selection *in alphabetical order
 
All the Lovers in the Night (Japan)

Director: Sode Yukiko
Cast: Kishii Yukino, Asano Tadanobu, Morita Misato
Film adaptation of Kawakami Mieko’s eponymous masterpiece, by Sode Yukiko (Aristocrats, 2021). Freelance proofreader Fuyuko confronts the joys and sorrows of first love. A romantic drama selected for Un Certain Regard at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
 

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Arrested Memory (Taiwan/Japan)

Director: SABU
Cast: Ethan Juan, Hsieh Ying Xuan, Tsutsumi Shinichi
A veteran detective who has early on-set dementia investigates a kidnapping case while struggling with his memory loss.
 

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Behemoth! (USA)

Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor
Pedro Pascal has his first lead role, playing a troubled cellist in a moving drama brimming with a love of music and life.
 

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The Beloved (Spain)

Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Cast: Javier Bardem, Victoria Luengo, Marina Foïs
A renowned director reunites with his estranged daughter for his new film project in Spain, forcing them to confront old wounds and a fractured bond.
 

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A Bouquet of Light for You (Working Title) (Japan)

Director: Ando Hiroshi
Cast: Hara Nanoka, Sakuma Ryuto (ACEes), Mashima Hidekazu
A live-action adaptation of the novel by Shiomi Natsue, author of “Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill,” starring Hara Nanoka and Sakuma Ryuto (ACEes).
 

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Bye Bye Love: Detective Is in the Bar (Japan)

Director: Shiraishi Kazuya
Cast: Oizumi Yo, Matsuda Ryuhei, Suzuki Kyoka
Two cases lead a detective and his partner into a dark conspiracy. What truth lies beyond the white snow?
 

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Diary of a Mad Old Man (USA)

Director: Wayne Wang
Cast: Lily Franky, Fan Bingbing, Kudoh Youki
A film adaptation of Tanizaki Junichiro’s novel “The Diary of a Mad Old Man,” set in present-day Tokyo.
 

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Displacement Film Fund (UK/Syria/Ukraine/Turkey/Iran/Germany/Somalia/Austria)

Directors: Hasan Kattan, Maryna Er Gorbach, Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Mo Harawe
Five short films supported by the Displacement Film Fund (DFF), co-founded by Cate Blanchett, UNIQLO, and others.
 

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Fjord (Romania/France/Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Finland)

Director: Cristian Mungiu
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve
In this Palme d’Or winner at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, a Christian family moves from Romania to Norway, where the parents are questioned about their traditional education.
 

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Sunshine Women’s Choir (Taiwan)

Director: Gavin Lin
Cast: Ivy Chen, Judy Ongg, Sun Shumei
As the birthday song plays, a baby girl is born inside a women’s prison, welcomed by four inmates, each burdened by a painful past. No.1 hit in Taiwan’s history!
 

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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (USA/Canada)

Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson
After years of slapdash sequels, Camp Miasma is handed to a young director for resurrection. Visiting its reclusive star, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world.
 

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The Tiger and Her Wings The Movie (Japan)

Director: Nagikawa Yoshiro
Cast: Ito Sairi, Okada Masaki, Matsumoto Koshiro
The groundbreaking story of Japan’s first female lawyer and judge moves from TV to screen for a powerful cinematic chapter.
 

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Verity (USA)

Director: Michael Showalter
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett
A psychological mystery thriller based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, in which a ghostwriter finds it hard to separate fiction from reality.
 

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Wild Horse Nine (UK/USA/Chile)

Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi
Master filmmaker Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) follows two CIA agents as they are dispatched to Easter Island. John Malkovich won the Venice Best Actor award for his performance.
 

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Your Story – Kimi No Hanashi (Japan)

Director: Nakagawa Ryutaro
Cast: Kitamura Takumi, Deguchi Natsuki
A young man encounters a woman who should exist only in his memories. Starring two of Japan’s brightest young stars, this heartfelt new romance explores the boundaries between memory and reality.
 

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TIFF is also pleased to announce the 12-title Animation Section. The lineup includes three popular works from Japan, selected under the theme Women Directors: Diverse Visions.
 
Animation Section *in alphabetical order
 
Amadeo and the Hypothetical New World (Brazil)

Director: Brenda Lígia, Edu Felistoque
Cast: Sérgio Menezes, Naruna Costa, Edmilson Filho
In 19th-century Brazil, a brilliant young African man builds a camera and uses his creation to help free enslaved people.
 

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Cherry and Virgin (Japan)

Director: Kawajiri Masanao
Cast: Okado Takashi, Kiyose Yaeko
An awkward love story about an erotic-manga artist and a BL-lover, both new to romance, who slowly build a relationship. Its striking visuals transcend anime.
 

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Forgotten Island (USA)

Director: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Cast: H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco
What if returning home meant losing every memory of your best friend? A mythic adventure from DreamWorks Animation, the studio that brought us The Wild Robot.
 

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Ghost – End of Night (Japan)

Director: Natsume Shingo
Cast: Hotta Mayu, Takahashi Issey
The first original feature film by Natsume Shingo, this is the story of Neekei, a girl in search of the “genuine” in the near future. Animation produced by Madhouse.
 

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Grotesqqque (Japan)

Director: Nishigori Atsushi
Cast: Ichinose Kana, Minami Sara, Inoue Nagi (Nogizaka46), Hoshino Gen
Aliens, gyarus (gals), vampires… the girls race through a sensational collection of works from Nishigori Atsushi and CloverWorks.
 

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Iron boy (France)

Director: Louis Clichy
Cast: Gary Clichy, Rod Paradot, Dimitri Colas
When Christophe is forced to wear an iron corset to help keep him upright, he leaves his father and the family farm, and begins to broaden his world. Winner of three awards at the 2026 Annecy festival.
 

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Son of a Bitch (Brazil)

Directors: Érica Maradona, Otto Guerra, Tania Anaya, Sávio Leite
Cast: Gabriel Martins, Matheus Nachtergaele, Zora Santos
A young man sets off with his dog toward the coast, in search of a father he’s never met. Along the way, he faces situations that remind him of the fate he is running away from.
 

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Walking with Animators (France)

Directors: Alexandre Poncet, Gilles Penso
Cast: Lucie Arnissolle, Will Becher, Doug Chiang
Dozens of acclaimed animation artists from around the world reveal their creative philosophies and deeply personal connections to the world of animation.
 

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We Are Aliens (Japan)

Director: Kadowaki Kohei
Cast: Bando Ryota, Okayama Amane
This Cannes-acclaimed debut is a coming-of-age story about two boys whose friendship is torn apart by a misunderstanding that haunts them for the next 30 years.
 

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Women Directors: Diverse Visions
 
Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire (Japan)

Director: Nagaoka Chika
Cast: Takayama Minami, Yamazaki Wakana, Yamaguchi Kappei
Detective Conan and Kaito Kid face a conspiracy surrounding a legendary treasure in Singapore in this first Detective Conan film directed by a woman (in 2019).
 

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Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom (Japan)

Director: Watanabe Kotono
Cast: Kaku Kento, Hamabe Minami
The long-awaited anime adaptation of acclaimed romance-fantasy manga “Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom” was directed by Madhouse’s Watanabe Kotono (in 2023).
 

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The Rose of Versailles (Japan)

Director: Yoshimura Ai
Cast: Sawashiro Miyuki, Hirano Aya, Toyonaga Toshiyuki
Ikeda Riyoko’s manga portraying the loves and lives of people in revolutionary France was adapted into an animated film by MAPPA (in 2025).
 

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Original Caps and Folder added to TIFF Merch Lineup!

TIFF is once again collaborating with SCRE:EN, a trending brand from Tokyo Theatres Co., Ltd., to offer “TIFF + SCRE:EN” original merchandise made from discarded cinema screens. New for this year is a B5-size folder with a clear pocket that you can personalize with movie flyers to show off your favorite films. There’s also a new cap in two colors: classic black and two-tone green and gray. They come embroidered with the hashtag #TIFFJP on the front, and the TIFF logo on the back—symbolizing how we share and connect with films through the festival.
 
Merchandise will be available starting October 14 (Wed) at TIFF’s online store, and select items will be available at festival venues during the event. Crafted from screen materials that have displayed numerous films, these items support SDGs and offer film fans a unique piece of cinema history.
Note: The cap does not use cinema-screen material.
 
→ TIFF Online Store