The Tokyo International Film Festival‘s TIFFCOM market exhibition space sold out early this year, according to managing director Ikeda Kaori. More Japanese producers are using the Tokyo market to find partners while projects are still in development.
Last year’s edition drew more than 4,600 industry professionals from 46 countries and regions, and attendance rose 13%. Ikeda credits global interest in Japanese content for part of that growth.
“Beyond the traditional trading of completed content, TIFFCOM has increasingly evolved into a platform for finding partners from the project development stage, leading to a significant increase in participation by Japanese producers,” Ikeda tells Variety.
She also points to Asia, which is now one of the world’s largest markets. Governments across the region are actively backing their content industries, she says.
This year’s Tokyo IP Market has grown to 10 participating IP holders and adds new categories, toys among them. The pitch event has also changed format. Each company now gives a focused pitch on its flagship IP.
The changes come after the market’s expansion to the Cannes Film Market this year, where more than 700 people registered for its pitches, panels and related programs. The audience was mostly from Europe and Hollywood. Ikeda says the IP holders who took part held a run of meetings with partners they rarely get to see in person. An initiative proposed by the Cannes market also set up matchmaking with the XR sector.
Overseas interest goes beyond the obvious hits. “IPs with an established audience, including ‘One Piece’ and ‘Super Mario,’ are undoubtedly attractive. On the other hand, Japan still possesses a great number of outstanding original works with strong potential for screen adaptations and remakes, and Tokyo IP Market is designed as the platform to discover them,” Ikeda says. Many producers want to adapt or distribute distinctive stories that are not yet well known, she adds, and each market has its own scale and audience.
The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) has 24 live-action and animation projects this year. It has also teamed with Canadian genre outfit Frontières. Ikeda says Japan, Thailand and Indonesia stand out in Asia for genre films such as horror and thrillers.
“Horror in particular is often deeply rooted in local culture and traditions, making it naturally unique while offering exceptional entertainment value,” she says. TGFM wants the genre focus to widen the mix of projects and filmmakers at the market. It also hopes to give Asian projects a route into North America.
The market already has results to show. Two projects developed through TGFM are at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. “The Violinist,” which took part in 2023, won the top prize at Annecy this year. Ikeda understands that the Italian financing on “The Violinist” and the Thai financing on “Four Seasons in Java” both came from connections made at TIFFCOM.
“As a gap financing market, the primary goal is the completion of the film, and being selected for film festivals is a major initial bonus,” she says.
Japanese broadcasters feature prominently in this year’s conference program. TBS will present its partnership with Legendary Entertainment and the worldwide rollout of “Sasuke,” known overseas as “Ninja Warrior.” Nippon TV will discuss its global strategy, including a drama co-produced with South Korea. In a session run by the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ), TV Tokyo will present a case study on taking IP overseas through experiential exhibitions.
“While terrestrial TV remains strong in Japan, all broadcasters are actively accelerating their global initiatives. Japanese broadcasters have always been a treasure trove of powerful IP, including formats and dramas,” Ikeda says.
For anime studios looking at international partnerships, she sees the biggest obstacle as hesitation that comes from a lack of international experience. “While language and cultural differences exist, the core issue is a shortage of talent with experience in international co-production, which in turn leads to a lack of established networks. On the flip side, however, this means there is immense room for growth,” she says. TIFFCOM is hosting a conference on international anime co-production this year, where experts will cover project structuring and financing.
Short-form drama is also growing fast in Japan. Participation from AI and data analytics companies is rising steadily, and another conference looks at trends in Japanese content through data. AGBO is giving this year’s keynote.
“In such a fast-moving environment, what holds true value is first-hand insights into how AI is being used at the cutting edge,” Ikeda says. TIFFCOM is also keen to explore using AI in its own operations.
The program also includes Taiwanese project showcases, Chinese content presentations and co-production discussions involving Brazil, Canada and Japan. Ikeda doesn’t see a conflict between TIFFCOM’s role as the main marketplace for Japanese content and its goal of becoming a hub for Asia. She calls them two essential pillars.
“Southeast Asia in particular is experiencing rapid growth in both economic strength and production capabilities, alongside rising demand for Japanese content. As buyers in each country grow their domestic businesses, their opportunities to acquire Japanese content will also expand,” she says.
Ikeda doesn’t want to narrow TIFFCOM to a single next area. Instead, she wants it to keep adapting as trends and formats change, and to add partnerships with other markets and events along the lines of the Cannes collaboration.
“The content industry five years from now holds so much potential that it cannot yet be defined – and that is precisely what makes it so exciting,” she says.