The 36th Tokyo International Film Festival welcomes filmmaker Ando Momoko as the Festival Navigator. She will “navigate” the audience at officiall events as the face of the 36th TIFF.
 

 
Comment from Ando Momoko
A world where there are no conflicts or boundaries, where every existence can be enlightened, where we can transcend time and space and live freely.
Cinema can embody any story.
Cinema can change the world.
The world can be changed by films.
I honestly believe that is true.
 
Films reflect our thoughts.
They project invisible winds, tiny creatures, and all life.
They memorize and record the past and future in our minds.
Now, in 2023, what will we gaze at, and where will we be led?
Film festivals are the compass of the world.
Now, here, from Tokyo.
 

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Profile
Born in 1982 in Tokyo. Ando moved to the United Kingdom to study in high school and earned a degree from the University of London’s Faculty of Arts. She thereafter studied filmmaking in New York, and after working as an assistant director, she made her debut as a director and screenwriter in 2010 with Kakera: A Piece of Our Life. In 2014, Ando adapted her own novel “0.5mm” into a film, which won the Hochi Film Award for Best Picture, the Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay, and the Best Director Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The film was highly acclaimed both domestically and internationally. Ando then moved to Kochi prefecture where the production for 0.5 mm took place.
In Kochi, Ando headed the arthouse theater Kinema M and founded “Wasshoi!” a cross-industry project that aims for a brighter future for children. Currently a member of Chikyu no Kodomo (Children of the Earth) – a non-profit organization whose motto is to provide “kindness to all lives,” Ando is working on creating a friendly local community through filmmaking and art activities with children, food education, ecology related activities, and farming. In 2021, Ando published her first collection of essays, “Zembu Ai”. In November 2023, she plans to open the “Kinema Museum” – a venue to convey spirit and culture through films, in the city center of Kochi City. She is also in preparation to organize a
Kochi Prefecture’s own film festival.