Tokyo Film Festival Launches New Talent Competition With Amazon Prime Video

The Tokyo International Film Festival has joined forces with Amazon Prime Video to create a new award that will help new film directors. The winner will be given a prize of JPY1 million and the opportunity to explore the production of a feature film with Amazon Studios.

The festival is scheduled to be held from Oct. 30 – Nov. 8, 2021, but organizers said that they will monitor the global health situation and “explore options for holding the 34th edition, including postponement or cancelation.”

Open to filmmakers living in Japan who have not made a commercial feature, the Amazon Prime Video Take One Award will operate through an online short film competition and be judged by a panel of industry figures. Submissions are open until Sept. 15.

“TIFF and Amazon Prime Video look forward to discovering new talent shining brightly even within the limited format of short film, and to helping filmmakers expand their horizons of film from Tokyo to the world,” the companies said in a statement.

“It is exciting to imagine budding new filmmakers being discovered at the Tokyo International Film Festival and going on to achieve worldwide success. I have high hopes in discovering the next generation of Japanese filmmakers, and we are happy to partner with Amazon Prime Video on such an exciting project,” said Ando Hiroyasu, chairman of the festival.

“Our hope is that Amazon Prime Video Take One Award will prove a valuable first step in an international career for talented aspiring creators in Japan, said Erika North, head of Amazon originals Asia Pacific, Amazon Studios. “Amazon Studios’ vision is to be the global home for talent. Our goal is to provide the creative community – from directors, writers and producers to actors and production professionals – an environment in which they can be their most innovative, and where they can make their greatest work.”

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