Fan Bingbing

范冰冰

Actress

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From TV star to movie sensation and back to small screen, even working as a producer over fourteen years, she has amazed the public with each change. Her path to success cannot be duplicated. Fan, with her exotic Asian looks, is becoming a Chinese icon on the international stage! She is the only actress who has got more than a hundred million hits on Baidu, the largest search engine in China.
In 2004, she was the youngest winner of the Hundred-Flowers Best-Actress Award for the film Cell Phone. In 2007, she won the Best Actress Award of the 4th Eurasia International Film Festival and was nominated at Berlin Film Festival for the film Lost in Beijing. In 2007, she won the best supporting actress of the Golden Horse Award for the film The Matrimony. In 2010, she participated in the film Chongqing Blues which nominated at the Cannes Film Festival. She won the Best Actress Awards at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival and at the 18th Beijing College Student Film Festival for the film Buddha Mountain.

MESSAGE TO THE FESTIVAL

I dreamt of being an actress when I was a little girl. I've been shooting movies for more than ten years. I live in movies at the present moment, and into the future, going through the sadness and happiness of the world, which provides me with a unique and fascinating life that is impossible for others. I was fortunately granted the Best Actress Award at TIFF last year, and this year, I am honored to attend the TIFF where I received my utmost credit in my career and also can pour out all my inspiration and views through all my experiences. I am excited and looking forward to communicating with all movie lovers at this most influential film festival in Asia.

Masahiro Kobayashi

Film Director

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Born 1954 in Tokyo. Active as a folk singer and scriptwriter before producing his 1996 directorial debut Closing Time and establishing production company Monkey Town Productions. Most of his thirteen feature films to date were based on his own original scripts and self-produced. Bootleg Film (1999), Koroshi (2000), Man Walking on Snow (2001), and Bashing (2005) were screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and Amazing Story (2003), The Rebirth (2007) and Where are you? (2009) were selected for the Locarno Film Festival's competition section. The Rebirth won four awards at the 60th Locarno Film Festival in 2007, including the Golden Leopard and Daniel Schmid Award.
Retrospectives of his works were held at film festivals in Rotterdam and Buenos Aires in 2008, underlining the particularly high esteem in which he is held internationally. Previous work Haru's Journey won several honors in Japan and abroad, including prizes for Best Picture, Best Director, and an Audience Award.

MESSAGE TO THE FESTIVAL

TIFF and I go back a long way, to the time I made my debut. In a way, you could say my career as a director began from this film festival. It's my honor to have been chosen as a member of the International Competition Jury for this year. I've been a juror for film festivals a few times in the past, and every time I've been surprised anew. I believe that the potential of film is unlimited. I'm looking forward to being surprised again this year, and will be experiencing the films as a receptive member of the audience. I can't wait!

Reiko Kruk

Special Effects Makeup Artist

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Born in Isahaya city, Nagasaki Prefecture. Worked for a TV station, NBC Nagasaki Broadcasting Company, where she was involved in commercial film productions at the CM section. She moved to Paris in 1971 and worked as the product development artistic advisor for L'Oreal and Guerlain cosmetics companies. In 1975 she made her way into her dream world of film, opera and theatre as a make-up designer. In 1977 she established her private research institute, "Metamorphose," in Paris to master special effect makeup, which was still underdeveloped in France at the time and became a pioneer in the field. Her all-round achievements from concept to implementation have led to many opportunities to collaborate with directors in the U.S. and Europe, and she was responsible for more than fifty feature films including works by Werner Herzog, Claude Lelouch, Arnaud Desplechin, Claude Chabrol, André Téchiné, Claude Berry and Hideyuki Hirayama.
In addition to being the art director for Frédéric Mitterrand's Madama Butterfly, she has experimented with multifaceted expressions in different areas. She also directed CFs, PVs and short films, and held exhibitions of her lifework, "Skin Art," in Paris (Galerie Enrico Navarra), Canada (Canadian Museum of Civilization) and Japan (Parco, Kirin Plaza and Artium) as well as others. In 2011 she was awarded Officier of the Order of Arts and Letters by Frédéric Mitterrand, the Minister of Culture and Communication of the Ministry of Culture in France. She is a professional license holder of the French national film center, CNC.

MESSAGE TO THE FESTIVAL

A director constructs a drama, actors embody the characters, and I am the technician to metamorphose actors' faces and bodies.
I adore every piece of work, considered excellent or rubbish, and I am given this task as a jury member to evaluate films. It is not a pleasant but a scary thing to judge. However, this is a great opportunity to discuss the art and culture of films in the transnational language of films. Fresh perspectives emerge at the intersection of different cultures. In the hope that this encounter will help increase the number of film lovers and that the Tokyo International Film Festival will be at the forefront, I will strive to fulfill this important role.

Koji Fukada

Film Director

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Born in 1980. He joined Theatre Company Seinendan. He directed the animated film La Grenadière (2006). He shot the feature film Human Comedy in Tokyo (2008) which was an official selection at the Roma International Film Festival in 2009. His latest film, hospitalité, won the Best Picture Award for the Japanese Eyes section of Tokyo International Film Festival in 2010.

Harumi Nakayama

Cinema Journalist

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Born in Ibaraki, Japan. After graduating Ritsumeikan Univ., she belonged to Nikkan Sports News in Osaka, covering entertainment business. She became a freelance movie journalist in 1996, and visits international festivals including Cannes, Venice, Rotterdam, San Sebastian every year for coverage. Currently she is writing for Cinematoday, Kyodo 47 News, Daily Sports and Nihon Eiga Navi.

Kyoichiro Murayama

Film Critic

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Born in 1947. A freelance film critic and film researcher. Currently, he writes reviews for film magazines and newspapers. He also teaches film history and visual theory at universities and professional schools. From 1993 to 2003, he served on the Pre-selection Committee for the YIDFF International Competition. His books and translations include "Loach on Loach," and "Critical Words for Film History."

Genki Kawamura

Film Producer

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Born in 1979 and joined Toho Co., Ltd. in 2001. He planned and produced Train Man in 2005, which was a big hit. He also planned and produced Ski Jumping Pairs: Road to TORINO 2006 (2006) and Detroit Metal City (2008) among others. In 2010, he planned and produced Villain and Confessions, which were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Kinema Jumpo Best Ten and shared various Japan Academy Prizes. Also in 2010, he was selected for the "Next Generation Asia 2010" by The Hollywood Reporter magazine in the U.S.A., and in 2011, he won the Fujimoto Prize at the youngest age in history.

Koko Niwa

Sustainability Activist

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Niwa worked as a journalist at NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and taught at Japan Film School before becoming a freelance documentarist. After completing her Masters in Sustainable Development in the UK, she shifted completely to an organic lifestyle, and since then has been reporting about her life on various media. Her work includes DJing at FM radio station J-WAVE and MCing at Fuji Rock Festival Avalon Stage.

Tom Yoda

Chairman, Tokyo International Film Festival

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Yoda was born on May 27, 1940, in Japan's Nagano Prefecture. After graduating in March 1963 from Meiji University in Tokyo with a degree in business management, he joined Osada Electric Co., and later Sansui Electric in 1969. After serving as director of Sansui Electric, he established Thomas Yoda Limited (later renamed T.Y. Limited Inc.) in 1988 and moved into the entertainment-content business at Tokyo-based record label Avex, where he was Chairman of the Board/CEO from 1995 until August 2004. He has served as Chairman of Tokyo-based film distributor/production company Gaga Communications (later renamed GAGA Corporation) since December 2004. He took majority ownership of the company in July 2009 and appointed Chairman of the Board/President/Chief Executive Officer. He also owns and heads T.Y. Limited Inc., Dreamusic Inc. and T.Y. Entertainment, as well as serves on the board of directors of movie theater operator T-Joy Co. Ltd. In March 2008, Yoda was appointed Chairman of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF & TIFFCOM). His public contribution also includes Deputy Chairperson of the Japan International Contents Festival's Executive Committee and Executive Director of the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO). He has also been a member of the Japan Business Federation's board of directors and Chairman of the subcommittee on entertainment and content of the federation's committee on industrial affairs. Other contribution includes memberships in various committees of the Japanese Government. In the past, Yoda served as chairman of Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), chairman of the Foundation for Promotion of Music Industry and Culture (PROMIC), and as a main board director of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), among others.