Over 200 filmmakers, actors and leading lights from across all sections of the festival, as well as the TIFF jury members, briefly greeted an awaiting audience before beginning their walk along the 162-meter carpet, where they obliged autograph and selfie seekers before arriving at the elegant staircase leading into the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. Built in the style of yesteryear’s grand movie houses, the theater provided a glamorous backdrop for TIFF’s Opening Ceremony.
 
TIFF’s 38th edition, running from October 27 – November 5 at venues in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of central Tokyo, will feature 184 screenings, Q&A sessions, symposia, masterclasses, TIFF Lounge talk sessions and an enormous array of allied events. The TIFF Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kurosawa Akira Award will be bestowed, as will awards to the chosen films. Fifteen titles are competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix in the festival’s International Competition, drawn from 1,970 submissions from 108 countries and regions.