TIFFCOM, the content market affiliated with the Tokyo International Film Festival, closed its doors on Friday, but not before it unveiled the winners of the 2024 pitching contest winners.
Now in its seventh year, the MPA/DHU/TIFFCOM Masterclass Seminar and Pitching Contest is co-hosted by the Motion Picture Association, the Digital Hollywood University and TIFFCOM to support young filmmakers looking to take their first steps into the international film industry.
After Friday’s first session, the master class seminar, the pitching contest saw five young filmmakers selected from a public call for entries as well as two entrants from the 2024 KAFA-TUA Collaboration Film Development Workshop — a joint project development workshop for art universities in Japan and Korea, organized by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The MPA grand prize went to Shion Koreeda for AI Within, with the Japanese filmmaker receiving a study trip to the Global Film & Television Immersion Program to be held in November 2025 in Los Angeles. Kazuya Murayama’s The Right Place took the Special Recognition Prize, and the young filmmaker received an invitation to attend the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia. The final award, the Special Jury Prize, went to Shun Tsujii for 2 Years and 2 Months. Tsujii received the opportunity to pitch at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
Sitting on the contest jury were Tokyo Vice producer Alex Boden, The Roosevelt Game screenwriter Nobuko Nishii, Ichiko director Akihiro Toda, And Yet, You Are So Sweet director Takehiko Shinjo and Venice Production Bridge chief Pascal Diot.
English (US) ·