24/10/2011

TIFFCOM, the market arm of the Tokyo International Film Festival (October 22-30) kicked off on Monday - with a record-setting 226 exhibitors, up from 222 last year- welcoming a significant number of European companies for the first time.

Following Korea, with 33 exhibitors, and Taiwan (17), Britain is the third biggest territory represented here, with 13 companies exhibiting at a U.K. pavilion.

This includes BBC Worldwide, Hat Trick International, Blink TV, TV6 and Electric Sky. Other European exhibitors include Gaumont from France and the Greek Film Center, which is representing the competition film, the child-trafficking drama, Jace.

"The idea is encourage more cross-collaboration between the plethora of new Japanese channels and international companies," said TIFFCOM head, Mika Morishita.

The move comes in the wake of the festival and market's recent focus on becoming more of an international event. The British pavilion resulted from a close relationship between the British embassy and TIFFCOM. "Britain has such a strong audio-visual industry that we are happy to welcome them to TIFFCOM," said Morishita.

Elsewhere around the market, the recent disaster in Japan was never far from sight. The Sendai television station are selling their variety show, Sandwichman's Bon-Yaree-Nu TV, in which the hosts present each week from the disaster-stricken area. Com Net International Visual works are presenting to international buyers Tsunami Disaster: 49 Days of Life and Death, about a camera man who lost his home in Kesennuma City then recorded the struggles of the town's people to rebuild their lives.

British programming for sale includes a 96-minute docu-film Kissinger, which is being sold by Mercury Media, and Fordson about an Arab-American football team. Blink TV is selling a number of music documentaries and films, including Kylie Aphrodite. Canada and Namibia are exhibiting for the first time. This year, there are 700 buyers attending.