“While progress has been made, gender equality in directing, screenwriting and producing is still slow, with women holding only 10-20% of these roles worldwide,” says Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) senior programmer Andrijana Cvetkovikj, when asked why the festival has introduced a Women’s Empowerment Section for the first time this year.
“This program is not just about celebrating women’s achievements but about creating an inclusive industry where more women can tell their stories. There’s still a long way to go, but this is a meaningful step in the right direction.”
TIFF, which was the first Asian film festival to sign the Collectif 50/50 charter promoting gender equality in the film industry, is working with Tokyo Metropolitan Government on the new section following their successful collaborations on filmmaking workshops and film education programmes for teens.
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The new section will screen seven features programmed by Cvetkovikj; host a special screening of Doctor-X The Movie, a film based on a long-running TV show about a female surgeon; and also present the documentary Women Make Films, about the Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival; along with a ‘Women’s Empowerment Symposium’, organized by Japanese filmmaker and government advisor Kanako Kondo.
Cvetkovikj, a former Macedonian ambassador to Japan, who completed a PhD in cinema at Nihon University, has curated a selection of films from around the world that are directed by female filmmakers and/or explore female-focused narratives.
“In choosing the films, I sought those that possessed a narrative strength that could captivate and move audiences, films that break down borders and address universal themes in ways that speak to us all,” Cvetkovikj says.
“I was also drawn to diverse perspectives – films that offer a unique, female voice in storytelling, each contributing to a rich and complex picture of womanhood. Lastly, I was looking for distinct directorial vision – works where the director’s craft and storytelling stood out, showcasing a fresh, unmistakable style and a unique cultural perspective.”
The seven films she has programmed include three from directors who will speak at the Symposium – Adabana, from Japan’s Kai Sayaka; Montages Of A Modern Motherhood, directed by Hong Kong’s Oliver Siu Keun Chan; and In Ten Seconds, from Turkish director Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik.
The line-up also includes German filmmaker Eva Trobisch’s Ivo, Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’s Memories Of A Burning Body and two films from Iranian filmmakers: Sarvnaz Alambeigi’s Maydegol and My Favourite Cake, from Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, who have been banned from travelling by the Iranian authorities.
Cvetkovikj explains that the programme captures the “diverse realities that women face across different cultural, social and political landscapes”, while also highlighting their shared experiences and universal themes.
“Each film is deeply rooted in the context of its home country, presenting both the unique challenges and triumphs that women experience,” she says. “Whether it’s a story of resilience in places like Iran, Afghanistan or Turkey, a tale of personal freedom and transformation from Costa Rica or Germany, or even a futuristic narrative set in Japan, these films collectively highlight the complex, diverse journeys women are navigating today, both in terms of identity and personal transformation.”
Cvetkovikj adds that this is not the first time that TIFF has featured a female-focused programme – back in 1985, it was involved in the first edition of the Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival, organized by late producer and writer Etsuko Takano. “Remarkably the issues raised then still resonate today,” she says.
The documentary Women Make Films, made in 2004 to celebrate the 15th edition of the festival, explores Takano’s work in supporting the progress of women filmmakers, and features interviews with women directors from young to veteran talking about the challenges they’ve faced.
Kondo explains that prior to the 2000s, there were no more than ten commercial films directed by women each year in Japan. “The film documents rare interviews with women who have struggled to make films in such conditions,” Kondo says.
She adds that the number of female directors in Japan has almost doubled in 20 years from 32 out of 531 in 2003 (6%) to 75 out of 629 (12%) in 2023. “The number is growing but is still low,” she comments. “Executives of major Japanese film companies, film festivals, production companies, media, cinemas and schools – the heads are all men.”
Meanwhile, Cvetkovikj acknowledges that film festival screenings can only achieve so much, and has several suggestions for concrete action that could improve the working environment for women in the Japanese and wider global film industry.
“Flexible working hours, on-set childcare, and a more inclusive film set culture are needed to help women balance work and family life,” she say. “Quotas – requiring at least 30% of films to be directed, written or produced by women – along with appointing more female board members and executives at major studios like Toho, Toei and Shochiku, are critical. Smaller studios should follow suit, and play their part in closing the gender gap in the film industry.”
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