The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is excited to unveil two special clips about the festival’s Special Programs devoted to legendary Japanese director OZU Yasujiro. As previously announced, the 36th edition will celebrate the 120th anniversary of Ozu’s birth as a grand highlight, celebrating it with various programs including screenings of most of his films and a symposium with internationally known filmmakers.
 
One of the clips is an 8-minute video titled “Wenders Discusses Ozu” in which director Wim Wenders talks about the allure of Ozu’s works. It explores why everyone is so drawn to Ozu as well as why his narratives, often considered typically Japanese, have been embraced worldwide. The video interview with Wenders, conducted this year in Berlin, will be released for the first time, featuring the renowned German director and 36th TIFF Jury President, who once followed Ozu’s footsteps to create the documentary Tokyo-Ga. In the interview, Wenders reflects on the impact of his encounter with Ozu and discusses why he was so profoundly affected by it. The director of the video is TAKASAKI Takuma, who worked on the screenplay and production of Wenders’ Perfect Days. Whether you are a seasoned Ozu enthusiast or a future film fan about to discover Ozu’s world, this interview provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the world created by Ozu Yasujiro. The video will be presented before the Ozu’s films screened at TIFF and its short version (1 min. 41 sec.) will be available on the official YouTube channel.

 
The other video is a short clip (1 min. 45 sec.) with the 120th-anniversary message “Shoulders of Giants – Universal,” composed of selected scenes from Ozu’s films. It is narrated by actor YAKUSHO Koji, who won the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It was directed by TSUJIKAWA Koichiro, and the music is composed by Ovall. This video, born in the age of digital remastering, leaves a strong impression of how closely Ozu’s work approaches universality. The clip will be also presented before each Ozu’s film and in addition, an alternative version of “Shoulders of Giants – Ripples” (1 min. 20 sec.) will be released on our official YouTube channel.
→ Shoulders of Giants – Ripples
 
Additionally, there will be exclusive, original merchandise featuring artwork created for this Special Program on sale at TIFF. As part of the Ozu Yasujiro 120th Anniversary Project, artist NAGABA Yu has created artworks for the key visual of the project and the portrait of Ozu which appeared on the international poster for Record of a Tenement Gentleman which created a buzz at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Nagaba also created artworks depicting iconic scenes from seven of Ozu’s films, including Tokyo Story, with simple line drawings in his distinctive style, with three of them featured on the original TIFF merchandise.
 
Five items will be available during TIFF: Three types of stickers (500 yen/each including tax), and two types of ring notebooks (1,000 yen/each including tax). These items will be available for purchase at TIFF venues, at the Ticket Center in front of Yurakucho Station, and on TIFF’s Online Shop, TIFF SHOP.
 
Stickers

 
Ring Notebook (Image of the front page)