Jury
Short Films
Head Jury Teruaki Shoji
Film Director, Commercial Director. Born on September 19, 1980, in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University. After graduation, he became involved in advertising and video production. In 2009, he released the short film “LINE” at SSFF&ASIA. In 2013, he independently released the short film “Then, Everything Was Washed Away into the Sea” (a 2012 NDJC work), set in Ishinomaki, nationwide in theaters. His feature film debut, “Goodbye Hoyaman,” became a long-running hit, its word-of-mouth popularity spreading quickly. “Goodbye Hoyaman” will be screened as the closing film of this festival in Morimachi.
AFRO（MOROHA）
MC of the band “MOROHA.” MOROHA is a duo consisting of UK on acoustic guitar and AFRO as MC, celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. MOROHA enjoys wide support from music fans across generations and has many famous fans. They have performed the ending theme for the drama series “Miyamoto kara Kimi e” and delivered passionate performances in the film “Ice and Rain Sounds.” In “Goodbye Hoyaman,” Afro made his debut as a lead actor, deeply resonating with the film’s powerful message, responding to a fervent offer from the production side. He won the Best Newcomer Award at the 78th Mainichi Film Awards, receiving the Sponichi Grand Prix Newcomer Award.
Junpei Kato
Born in Morimachi, Hokkaido. In 2003, he moved to Tokyo alone to pursue a career in acting and made his debut as a lead actor in the 2004 film “Overtones.” In 2006, he founded the theater company “Tokyo Samurai Guns,” personally handling scripts, directing, acting, video editing, and design for all 11 performances. In 2012, he made his directorial debut with “TOKYO BEAT MOVIES: Harajuku Edition” (Director, Screenplay, Editing). In 2017, he fulfilled his long-held dream of staging performances in both Tokyo and Hakodate. Since returning to Hakodate in 2022, he has been working as a freelance creator, focusing on store design and video production in southern Hokkaido while also producing an annual shrine festival in his hometown, Morimachi, every September.
Medium-length Films
Head Jury Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Born in Obihiro City, 1974. His graduation project at Osaka University of Arts, “Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts” (1997), won the Runner-Up Grand Prize at the Pia Film Festival. The film was invited to the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival and over 10 other international film festivals, bringing him widespread attention. In 2010, his film “Sketches of Kaitan City” won the Grand Prix and Best Actor Award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival, as well as the Jury Prize at the Deauville Asian Film Festival, among others. His subsequent works include “My Man” (2014), which won the Best Film and Best Actor awards at the Moscow International Film Festival and the Best Japanese Film Award at the Mainichi Film Awards. Other notable works include “Hole in the Sky” (2001), “Antena” (2004), “Green Mind, Metal Bats” (2006), “Freesia” (2007), “Nonko, Age 36” (2008), “The Workhorse and the Big Family” (2012), “The End of Summer” (2013), “Dias Police: Dirty Yellow Boys” (2016), “MUKOKU” (2017), “#Manhole” (2023), and “658km, Yoko’s Journey” (2023).
Greg Dale
Born in the United States, Greg Dale is a director and actor. He studied acting and directing on Broadway and spent over a decade in New York working as a professional actor and director, primarily in classical theater. After moving to Japan, he continued directing classical plays, writing scripts, and appearing in stage and television productions. He has performed at notable venues such as the Imperial Theatre, Meiji-za, Saison Theatre, and Parco Theatre, sharing the stage with prominent actors like Ayako Wakao. He has also directed for the Haiyuza Theatre Company and performed alongside renowned figures like Tetsuko Kuroyanagi in productions at NLT, Globe Theatre, Hakuhinkan Theatre, and Haiyuza. His film “Rules of Living,” which he directed, wrote, and starred in, had its world premiere at the 2024 Sedona International Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature Comedy Award. The film will have its highly anticipated Japan premiere as the closing film of this festival in Kutchan Town.
Kazuya Goto
Head of the Visual Production Department at Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting. He has directed several television documentaries, including “The Path of a Former Prisoner: The Deeper Story of the Asakusa Lesser Panda Incident” (2005), which won the Best Reporting Documentary Award at the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Awards, the Galaxy Award, the Broadcasting Culture Fund Award, and the Excellent Prize at the Local Era Video Festival, among others. He also produced and directed “Nogizaka46 Nanami Hashimoto’s Love Literature,” which won the Grand Prix in the International Program Category at the 2018 Asia Travel Film and TV Awards (sponsored by the China Television Artists Association). He has participated in the production of films such as “The Asian Angel” (2021, directed by Yuya Ishii). For the 2024 Cannes Film Festival official selection “My Sunshine” (directed by Hiroshi Okuyama, to be released nationwide on September 13), Goto contributed as the location manager for the Hokkaido shoot, among other production roles.
Feature Films
To be announced soon.
Programing Directors
From the highly evaluated films in the prescreening selection, the Programming Director selects the nominated and screening films for each category.
Short Films
Masahiro Hasegawa
Started his career as a copywriter in 1988. In 1997, he was in charge of Hokkaido marketing for foreign films such as 20th Century FOX films. Since 2007, he has served as the publicity, secretariat, and producer for the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and was appointed as the director of the secretariat in 2019. He also produced the Hokkaido location film “Neet Neet Neet” in 2017. He produced and wrote lyrics for the song “SUSUKINO BEAT” by volunteer members of a live bar in Susukino, and directed the music video to support Susukino, which was exhausted by the Corona disaster in 2020. Producer of Hokkaido International Film Festival.
Medium-length Films
Manabu Takahashi
He has been a representative of the Yubari Film Commission since 2018, a director of the NPO Yubari Fanta since 2021, and also a representative of a talent agency for people with disabilities and a director of the NPO A Risada, which supports people with disabilities. He has been involved in many film productions, and in recent years has participated in films directed by Takushi Tsubokawa, Yo-Yuan Chang and Gregor Bozich, among others.He has also worked on other film promotions, trailers, commercials, and making-of productions. Technical Director of Hokkaido International Film Festival.
Feature Films
Tokitoshi Shiota
Born January 1, 1956 in Sapporo. He started his career as an editor at Byakuya Shobo and became a film critic. He took over ZOOM-UP Film Festival during his tenure, and participated in the launch of Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in 1990. He has appeared in films by Shinya Tsukamoto, Ryuichi Hiroki, Takashi Miike, Gaspar Noe, and others. He is the author of such books as “Such a Fun Fantastic Film Festival in the World” and “Korean Cinema: This Relentless Life”. He made his directorial debut with “Ririka of the Star”.
Prescreening Panel Members
The following 12 members made the Prescreening of all submissions.
| Name | Akihiko Kawashima |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Festival Director, Hokkaido International Film Festival Executive Committee |
| Career History | Media management since 2001, Cinegar Award Jury for “Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival” in 2010, and secretariat from 2020 to 2022. 2023, organized “Mt. Teine Film Festival” as a commissioned project by Teine-ku, Sapporo, and produced the pilot film “The Promise in July “. |
| Comment | We take very seriously the passion of the filmmakers who have submitted their films to our just-started film festival, the thoughts they have put into their films, and their expectations of the festival. That is why evaluating the films was not only fun, but many times more painful work than that. |
| Birthplace / Age | Sapporo City, Hokkaido / 40s |
| Name | Shimeji |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Hokkaido International Film Festival Executive Committee |
| Career History | After working on the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, which was the hardest job I have ever had in the film industry, I am still working in the film industry today. |
| Comment | I am very impressed that we received so many submissions for the first edition of Hokkaido International Film Festival. There were films that I could understand even if I didn’t understand the language, and there were films that I just couldn’t stop watching intently. Thank you very much. |
| Birthplace / Age | Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido / 40s |
| Name | Ganba |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Hokkaido International Film Festival Executive Committee |
| Career History | I am an animation enthusiast and have been involved in film festivals |
| Comment | I was impressed by many films worth watching. |
| Birthplace / Age | Sapporo City, Hokkaido / 50s |
| Name | Tomomi Sato |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Movie Review Sapporo Writer |
| Career History | After gaining experience introducing films on FM radio, I am now writing articles about new feature films for the web page. |
| Comment | To be honest, it was difficult for me to evaluate films that people had put their heart and soul into making. I watched many excellent films and was deeply impressed and moved by them. |
| Birthplace / Age | Sapporo City, Hokkaido / 50s |
| Name | Yukie Kanehira |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Movie Review Sapporo / From E… |
| Career History | Contributed reviews to a movie information website called “Movie Review Sapporo”. I am also a member of “From E…LIFE”, a community FM program in Eniwa City, providing information on recommended movies and music. |
| Comment | I enjoyed the opportunity to see many films of various genres. I think my own love for movies has been further enhanced by the enthusiasm of the filmmakers while grading the films. |
| Birthplace / Age | Eniwa City, Hokkaido / 40s |
| Name | suzukitomoya |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Tiroir du Kinéma Cinema Journalist and Writer |
| Comment | As a member of the selection committee for the first Hokkaido International Film Festival, I was involved in the selection of films. First of all, film is “expression. There should be “expression” in that. Not because we want to make a film, we thought about whether what the filmmakers wanted to convey in the film was properly expressed on the front page of the film. In accordance with the industry’s long-held belief that “first is the script, second is the actors, and third is the direction,” we included the director’s passion for the work in our evaluation criteria, not only in the script, but also in the planning stage before that. Of course, the creation of innovative visuals is very important, but we also listened to the core of the work and the message of the directors that forms the foundation of the work before it is even created. |
| Birthplace / Age | Hirakata City, Osaka / 30s |
| Name | Devon Yamaoka |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Shangri-La Editorial Writer |
| Career History | Out of hobby and an uncontrollable desire for approval, he publishes the free movie paper “LOADED WEAPON”. Calling himself “the last conscience of movie fans,” he develops his own unique theories on movies, but no one listens to him. |
| Comment | I am aware that I am a bit presumptuous, but I seriously confronted the films from the viewpoints of both the audience and the creators. The lineup was stimulating and fulfilling, with some films interesting as entertainment and some documentaries that touched on worlds previously unknown to us! The best! Thank you very much! |
| Birthplace / Age | Sapporo City, Hokkaido / 40s |
| Name | AKIRA |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Representative of “Sugaramurudi”, a free film newspaper / Film Writer |
| Career History | Since 2017, he has been publishing the free film paper “Sugaramurudi”. Staff member of “Cinema Torus”, a mini-theater in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido. |
| Comment | It was difficult to select all the films because they are all filled with the thoughts and ideas of the filmmakers. I felt as if a new page of my life was opening up with each film I watched. Films are really great, aren’t they? |
| Birthplace / Age | Sapporo City, Hokkaido / 30s |
| Name | Offtaro |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Member of “Sugaramurudi”, a free film newspaper / Film Writer |
| Career History | Join the film free newspaper “Sugaramurudi” from 2019 |
| Comment | 私が担当した作品は、アジア諸国の会話劇が多かった印象です。個人的には、画面に動きの少ない作品よりも、カメラワークで躍動感を演出している作品に高い評価を与える傾向があった。その他、ドラゴンボールやAKIRAなど日本のアニメへのオマージュ作品も印象的で微笑ましかった。日本では、荒削りながらも勢いを感じさせる若手監督の作品が何本かあり、熱中した。 |
| Birthplace / Age | Kushiro City, Hokkaido / 30s |
| Name | Yonetsu |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Member of “Sugaramurudi”, a free film newspaper / Film Writer |
| Career History | Join the film free newspaper “Sugaramurudi” from 2023 |
| Comment | It was a lot of fun grading the entries from different countries. The special feature is that the theme and the way it is presented differs depending on the situation the country is in. When I looked at the Japanese works as a whole, I wondered if there was enough room for us. I thought so. While watching a movie, we are separated from society without even touching our phones. I think such time is necessary for us. |
| Birthplace / Age | Wakkanai City, Hokkaido / 20s |
| Name | MIC YOJI（SUKASHILARKIN） |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | None |
| Career History | I went to film school because I love movies. |
| Comment | Movies make me forget time. |
| Birthplace / Age | A town known for tea / 40s |
| Name | Masayuki Onishi |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Radio director |
| Career History | When I was a teenager, I spent my youth watching movies while working part-time at a video rental store. |
| Comment | I was shaken by cultural differences, art, entertainment, and many other things. |
| Birthplace / Age | Kushiro City, Hokkaido / 50s |