Niseko（Kutchan Town） | 北海道国際映画祭

Dates	February 13, 2026 – February 15, 2026
Venue	Kutchan Town Cultural Welfare Center （2-2, Minami 3-jo Higashi 4-chome, Kutchan Town, Abuta District, Hokkaido）
Organizer	Hokkaido International Film Festival Executive Committee
Supported by	Hokkaido, Hokkaido Board of Education, Hokkaido Transport Bureau, Kutchan Town, Kutchan Town Board of Education, Kutchan Town Tourism Association, Kutchan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kutchan Town Cultural Association, Hokkaido Entertainment and Public Health Association, Hokkaido Shimbun Press, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting
In cooperation with	Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Mt. Youtei Jr. JAZZ SCHOOL, Furebari, Shibuya Production, GAGA, Movie Act Project, Ogawara Osamu Memorial Museum, Kutchan Fudokan, Yukitopia Festival Executive Committee
Event Management	Varione, Warabi

Timetable

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Date	Main Hall	Medium Hall
2/13 (Fri)	5:15 PM Opening Ceremony (Free Admission) 6:30 PM Opening Screening: “2126年、海の星をさがして” (Guest: Dir. Shusuke Kaneko)
2/14 (Sat)	10:30 AM HIFF Short Animation Prog. A 12:00 PM HIFF Selection AI 1:30 PM “ALL of Tokyo!” 3:30 PM “DEAD OR ZOMBIE” (Guest: Dir. Tomoya Sato, Starring Sara Kurashima)	11:00 AM Mid-Length Comp. Prog. A 1:00 PM Mid-Length Comp. Prog. B 3:30 PM Symposium (Free Admission)
2/15 (Sun)	10:30 AM HIFF Short Animation Prog. B 12:00 PM “ソーゾク” 2:00 PM HIFF Selection Documentary 4:00 PM Closing Ceremony & Awards Ceremony (Free Admission)	10:00 AM Mid-Length Comp. Prog. C 12:15 PM Mid-Length Comp. Prog. D

Also screening at the Yukitopia Festival booth!

2/14 (Sat)

11:30 AM HIFF Short Animation Prog. B
1:00 PM HIFF Selection AI
2:30 PM HIFF Short Animation Prog. A

2/15 (Sun)

10:00 AM HIFF Short Animation Prog. A
11:30 AM HIFF Selection AI
12:50 PM HIFF Short Animation Prog. B

February 13 (Fri) : Opening Ceremony

Mt.Youtei Jr. JAZZ SCHOOL

azz performed by children will color the opening!

Moher’s First Japan Visit

Korean band Moher will envelop the venue with their sound incorporating jazz and improvisation.

鑑賞料金

ALL PASS (3-day pass for all screenings) ¥4,000
Single Screening (1 program) ¥1,000
1-DAY PASS (unlimited screenings for one day, excluding opening and special screenings) ¥1,500
2-DAY PASS (unlimited screenings for two days, excluding opening and special screenings) ¥3,000
Free for junior high school students and younger

◆Advance tickets (ALL PASS only) now on sale

Kutchan Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Kutchan Town Tourism Association
Online tickets available here

※Tickets other than the ALL PASS will only be sold on the day of the event. Please purchase them at the venue reception.

Opening (Special Invitation) Film / Special Screening Films

World premieres and other hotly anticipated films gather in Kutchan Town!

2126年、海の星をさがして

Japan | 85 min | Shusuke Kaneko
World Premiere

Reunited in their hometown of Kushiro by a bid to revive a once-beloved RPG sequel, a group of childhood friends fight for the future of their town.
Guest: Shusuke Kaneko

Feb. 13 (Fri) 6:30 PM, Main Hall

All of Tokyo!

Japan | 87 min | Kazuyoshi Kumakiri

Eleven unique high school girls, portrayed by the fourth-generation members of Hinatazaka46, arrive in Tokyo on a school trip and race through the vast city in an attempt to experience all that Tokyo has to offer.

@ZOTFP

Feb. 14 (Sat) 1:30 PM, Main Hall

DEAD OR ZOMBIE

Japan | 128 min | Tomoya Sato
World Premiere　

An anthology set in a provincial city quarantined after a zombie outbreak, depicting people struggling to survive amid the fear of spreading infection.

Guests: Tomoya Sato, Sara Kurashima

Feb. 14 (Sat) 3:30 PM, Main Hall

ソーゾク

Japan | 97 min | Mamiya Fujimura

A humorous drama depicting the inheritance disputes that erupt within a once-close family following the death of their mother.

Feb. 15 (Sun) 12:00 PM Main Hall

International Mid-Length Film Competition

A competition featuring mid-length films (30–60 minutes) selected from around the world. Filmmakers from Japan and abroad will attend, with talk sessions following screenings. In addition to the Grand Prize awarded by the jury, your vote decides the Audience Award! (Programs A through D each feature two films per program.)

Jury President: Shusuke Kaneko
Born in Tokyo in 1955, Shusuke Kaneko is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Renowned for his work across genres including tokusatsu, horror, action, and youth drama, he is widely praised for seamlessly blending strong entertainment value with a distinct auteur sensibility. His notable works include the Heisei Gamera Trilogy and Death Note.

Lost Children

Japan | 42 min | Takaho Iwamoto

During summer vacation, they visit their grandmother’s house. Meeting local children and drawn by rumors of a haunted house, that summer quietly leaves lasting traces on both of their hearts.

Guest: Takahiro Iwamoto

Prog. A Feb. 14 (Sat) 11:00 AM Medium Hall

Town : Nokbeon-dong

South Korea | 35 min | Kim phile su

On the day a new home is being cleaned, a husband suddenly disappears. Silent cleaners and uneasy glances begin to distort everyday life in Nokbeon-dong.

Prog. A Feb. 14 (Sat) 11:00 AM Medium Hall

The Split Program

Malaysia | 37 min | Ves Yee

Lily, a high school student living under the weight of her family’s burdens.
Suddenly placed in a “perfect world,” she is soon forced to face choices she never wished to make.

Guests: Ves Yee, among others

Prog. B Feb. 14 (Sat) 1:00 PM Medium Hall

Picking Up DionySOS

South Korea | 38 min | Dongho Ahn, Jihwan Yoo

Disillusioned with creation, a filmmaker sets out on a surreal journey alongside Dionysus, the god of ecstasy and chaos, to reclaim a film he once erased from existence.

Guests: Dongho Ahn, Jihwan Yoo

Prog. B Feb. 14 (Sat) 1:00 PM Medium Hall

The Man Up North

Finland | 38 min | Emilia Kovanen

In 1938, as mining development begins in northern Finland, metalworker Eino heads north with his family in search of a new life.

Prog. C Feb. 15 (Sun) 10:00 AM Medium Hall

MALENKIJ

Hungary | 37 min | István János Pekár

In 1938, as mining development begins in northern Finland, metalworker Eino heads north with his family in search of a new life.
A true story where hope and uncertainty intersect.

Guest: István János Pekár

Prog. C Feb. 15 (Sun) 10:00 AM Medium Hall

Chair

Japan | 44 min | Kensuke Tsutsumi

Twin furniture makers Yuu and Shou. Living in his brother’s shadow, Shou slips into the life Yuu built—until a visitor quietly unsettles the lie.

Guests: Kensuke Tsutsumi, Naoki Hosaka (Lead Actor), Keiko Kishimoto (Producer)

Prog. D Feb. 15 (Sun) 12:15 PM Medium Hall

ChaariKaandha (The Four Shoulders)

India | 37 min | Biswanath Rath

Baidyanath, an elderly man living alone, wonders whether there will be “four shoulders” to carry his coffin after his death.A quiet reflection on aging, loneliness, and human connection.

Guest: Atish Kumar Rout(Producer)

Prog. D Feb. 15 (Sun) 12:15 PM Medium Hall

HIFF Selection AI

A special feature on notable AI-generated films from Japan and Korea. (Three films form one program.)

The world I met with you

South Korea | 21 min | Pilju Jung

World leaves a Mars colonization program due to the climate crisis.
Returning to Earth with a warning for humanity, he ultimately crosses into another world in despair.

　Feb. 14 (Sat) 12:00 PM, Main Hall

GRANDMALEVIT

Japan | 14 min | Hiroki Yamaguchi

In a society where evolving machines and humans coexist, the choice made by an elderly woman, Revito, sends quiet ripples across the fate of the world.

Feb. 14 (Sat) 12:00 PM, Main Hall

August 32nd

South Korea | 15min | Yunbin AN

Sejin meets a girl during a summer at his grandmother’s house. Wishing it would last forever, time distorts, trapping him in a repeating summer.

Feb. 14 (Sat) 12:00 PM, Main Hall

HIFF Selection Documentary

The Japanese spirit captured by foreign directors. (Three films form one program.)

The Missing Post Office

France | 9 min | Clement Lefer

On Awashima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, a decommissioned post office accepts letters with no destination.A former postmaster quietly watches over messages to the departed and words that will never be delivered.

Feb. 15 (Sun) 14:00 PM, Main Hall

BUSHIDO. The choice.

Poland | 29 min | Marcin Tomaszewski

A nameless, middle-aged professional mountaineer, successful yet searching for a new path, sets out on another expedition into the remote, snowbound mountains of Alaska.

Feb. 15 (Sun) 14:00 PM, Main Hall

HIBAKUSHA – WANDERING SOUL

Brazil | 20 min | Joel Yamaji

Blending documentary fragments with dreamlike imagery, the film explores the inner world of Hiroshima survivor Takashi Morita. His life in Brazil, devoted to peace, becomes a message for the future.

Guests: Joel Yamaji, Emilie Sugai(Key Cast)

Feb. 15 (Sun) 14:00 PM, Main Hall

HIFF Short Animation

From the International Short Film Competition held in Abashiri City starting February 27th, we bring you the world’s finest animated films first. (Program A and Program B each feature three films.)

Silili and Tree

Hong Kong | 15 min | Eric Lee

Silili, an elf born from a mother tree, sets out in search of her ideal form.
Unaware, her journey wounds a single tree, yet preserves the island’s plant life.

Prog. A Feb. 14 (Sat) 10:30 AM Main Hall

DUNDUN

China | 15 min | BIN WANG

In a closing toy store, two purple dolls struggle to be chosen. Their wish goes unfulfilled, and they are thrown away.

Prog. A Feb. 14 (Sat) 10:30 AM Main Hall

CELESTE

Brazil | 30 min | FERNANDO M. MACEDO

Celeste is a girl gifted with seeing the world through joy and hope. Imprisoned in a tower, she reveals that her dragon guardian is also captive, and they journey together.

Prog. A Feb. 14 (Sat) 10:30 AM Main Hall

Children of the Bird

Hungary | 12 min | Julia Tudisco

A wild girl who has the power to create things,and a shy boy who has the power to destroy them. The two are innocent, god-like children with mysterious abilities.

Prog. B Feb. 15 (Sun) 10:30 AM Main Hall