Update on Sep. 26,2019: Due to a change in the theater venue from the Closing Ceremony venue Tokyo International Forum Hall C to TOHO Cinemas Roppongi which has a 4K-enabled screen, “The Irishman” is now in our Special Screenings section to present the film to those visiting TIFF in the best picture quality possible.
 
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is pleased to announce this year’s Gala Screening film as well as Closing Film.
 
TIFF will hold a Gala Screening event on October 31, presenting the Japanese film Talking the Pictures, directed by Masayuki Suo, who produced many masterpieces including Shall We Dance? and I Just Didn’t Do It which he gained worldwide attention. This entertainment film combined with the elements of action, love and comedy will be the highlight of the festival.
 
The Irishman will close the festival on November 5, which is a legendary director Martin Scorsese‘s first ever Netflix epic saga of organized crime in postwar America, starring award-winning actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. A Netfilx film will create a buzz again on a big screen during the festival like last year’s Roma.
 
Along with our Opening Film Tora-san, Wish You Were Here which was announced earlier, these films will put the additional excitement to 32nd TIFF. The red carpet will roll out in Roppongi on the first day of the festival, welcoming stars and filmmakers from across the globe, as well as for TIFF’s special red carpet event for the Gala Screening, with the cast from the film.
 
The 32nd TIFF will take place from October 28 to November 5, 2019.
 
The screening schedule will be announced on the official TIFF website (tiff-jp.net/en/) in early October.
 
GALA SCREENING
Talking the Pictures (2019/Japan)

©2019 TALKING THE PICTURES Production Committee
 
Director: Masayuki Suo
Cast: Ryo Narita, Yuina Kuroshima
Release Date (Japan): December 13, 2019
Distribution (Japan): Toei Company, Ltd.
 
Director Masayuki Suo, who produced a lot of masterpieces, depicts the entertainment for a young guy dreaming a talking performer, “Katsudo-benshi”, who has genius seven voices. Ryo Narita challenges the protagonist after winning the fierce audition regarding “voices”. Rising young actress Yuina Kuroshima plays a role of Umeko as heroine. Masatoshi Nagase, Kengo Kora, Mao Inoue, Takuma Otoo, and Yutaka Takenouchi join in the Suo’s project as fresh members in addition to veteran members, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe, and Fumiyo Kohinata.
 
CLOSING FILM
The Irishman (2019/USA)

©Netflix
 
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
Release Date on Netflix (Japan): November,2019
Distribution (Japan): Netflix
 
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.