The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭, Yūbari kokusai fantasutikku eiga sai?), also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival.[1]
[edit] History
In 1990, the last coal mine in the Hokkaidō mining town of Yūbari having closed, the city leaders were looking for a way to revitalize the local economy. This was the beginning of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.[2] The festival was divided into two main programs, a prestigious international competition for young directors, and an Off Theatre program for mostly Japanese amateur, independent and first-time directors. The first year in 1990 had as a special guest, actor Jon Voight and his daughter, a young starlet named Angelina Jolie. In 1993, Quentin Tarantino was at the festival and wrote part of the screenplay for Pulp Fiction in his hotel room. Some years later, he paid homage to the town in the name of a character in Kill Bill Vol. 1, "Gogo Yubari".[3] In 2004 the festival drew a record audience of 27,000.[2]
The festival had always been sponsored financially by the city of Yubari but the town filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and that year's festival had to be cancelled. However, the people of Yubari with the assistance of a number of sponsors were able to group together to revive the festival in 2008. The international competition section of the festival had to be dropped but the Off Theatre program for young Japanese directors was retained with the Grand Prize bringing 2 million yen (about $20,000) to the winner. The new Governor's Award was presented by the Governor of Hokkaidō. In addition to the competition section, the festival continued to screen a number of international films by promising directors.[3] One of the sponsors for the festival is the giant Japanese satellite broadcasting company SKYPerfecTV! which also broadcast parts of the program.[3] The scaled down 2008 festival drew more than 8800 fans.[4] The 2010 festival is scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 1, 2010.[1]
[edit] Major awards
Award information from:[5]
[edit] 1990 Awards
Held February 14-18, 1990.
- Ofelas – Director: Nils Gaup
- Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds – Director: Alex Proyas
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Takeshita Performance Higei Mito-Komon – Director: Sinya Takesita
- Gig – Director: Kosuke Ienaga
- Meilin Adventure – Director: Satoshi Imai
[edit] 1991 Awards
Held February 15-19, 1991.
- Miracle in Valby (Miraklet i Valby) – Director: Åke Sandgren
- Windwalker – Director: Kieth Merrill
- Miller's Crossing – Director: Joel Coen
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Death Express – Director: Hiroyuki Terada
- Rice Game – Director: Hideaki Kobayashi
[edit] 1992 Awards
Held February 14-18, 1992.
- The Swordsman in Double Flag Town – Director: He Ping
- A Demon in My View – Director: Petra Haffter
- Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Diamonds Moon – Director: Akira Nobi
- Kappas – Director: Katsuya Ohsawa
[edit] 1993 Awards
Held February 19-23, 1993.
- Children of Nature – Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
- Winds of God – Director: Yoko Narahashi
- Reservoir Dogs – Director: Quentin Tarantino
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Trash – Director: Naoki Kubo
- My Daddy Long Legs – Director: Shin Yasuhara
[edit] 1994 Awards
Held February 18-22, 1994.
- Killing Zoe – Director: Roger Roberts Avary
- C'est arrive pres de chez vous – Director: Rémy Belvaux & André Bonzel
- Minami Toshiko Award / Critic's Award
- Carne – Director: Gaspar Noé
- The Most Entertaining Award
- El Mariachi – Director: Robert Rodriguez
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Family Time – Director: Ryota Kawaguchi
- My Favorite "Skyline" – Director: Shin Yasuhara
- Vending Machine and a Girl – Director: Kiyohide Otani
[edit] 1995 Awards
Held February 17-21, 1995.
- Tombés du ciel – Director: Philippe Lioret
- The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb – Director: Dave Borthwick
- Wizard of Darkness – Director: Shimako Sato
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- The Incredible Haniwa Man – Director: Shin Yasuhara
- Anatomia Extinction – Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
- A Room Without Wind – Director: Ryuta Miyake
[edit] 1996 Awards
Held February 18-20, 1996.
- Accumulator 1 – Director: Jan Svěrák
- Manneken Pis – Director: Frank Van Passel
- Secret Waltz – Director: Akira Nobi
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Brain Holiday – Director: Hineki Mito
- Blood Red Girls – Director: Daisuke Yamanouchi
- Rest Room – Director: Muneyoshi Murakami
- To Be or Not to Be – Director: Tomoko Matsunashi
[edit] 1997 Awards
Held February 14-18, 1997.
- Closing Time – Director: Masahiro Kobayashi
- Little Sister – Director: Robert Jan Westdijk
- Drive – Director: Steve Wang
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Party – Director: Mayumi Uchiumi
- L&D – Director: Hideki Kimura
[edit] 1998 Awards
Held February 13-17, 1998.
- Bernie – Director: Albert Dupontel
- Jean-Hugues Anglade Award
- Detective Riko – Director: Satoshi Isaka
- The Ground – Director: Atsushi Muroga
- Illtown – Director: Nick Gomez
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Midnight Three – Director: Yasushi Koshizaka
- Variation for Movements – Director: Yoshinao Sato
- Kurushime Girl – Director: Noboru Iguchi
[edit] 1999 Awards
Held February 19-23, 1999.
- Bandits – Director: Katja von Garnier
- Special Jury Prize / Minami Toshiko Award
- Moonlight Whispers – Director: Akihiko Shiota
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Tel-Club – Director: Kenji Murakami
- Kiadoryoku REAL – Director: Katsushi Boda
[edit] 2000 Awards
Held February 18-22, 2000.
- Across a Gold Prairie – Director: Isshin Inudou
- Pups – Director: Ash
- Jin-Roh – Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Hazy Life – Director: Atsuhiro Yamashita
- Let's Go Strawberry Girl – Director: Shinobu Kuribayashi
[edit] 2001 Awards
Held February 15-19, 2001.
- New Year's Day – Director: Suri Krishnamma
- Animals – Director: Michael Di Jiacomo
- Siam Sunset – Director: John Polson
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Tokyo A Go Go – Director: Ryuichi Honda
- L'Ilya – Director: Tomoya Sato
[edit] 2002 Awards
Held February 14-18, 2002.
- My Sassy Girl – Director: Kwak Jae-yong
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Run! Yamazaki! Run! – Director: Naoko Johnori
- Nuts – Director: Yoko Chukira / Tomokazu / Shu Kageyama
[edit] 2003 Awards
Held February 13-17, 2003.
- Battlefield Baseball (Jigoku Koushien) – Director: Yūdai Yamaguchi
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Bijo-can – Director: Masaya Kakei
- Ski Jumping Pairs – Director: Riichiro Mashima
[edit] 2004 Awards
Held February 19-23, 2004.
- Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise – Director: Kim Ji-hoon
- Robot Stories – Director: Greg Pak
- Better Than Sex – Director: Su Chao-pin & Lee Feng-bor
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- The Far East Apartment – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
- Utsu-musume SAYURI – Director: Takashi Kimura
[edit] 2005 Awards
Held February 24-28, 2005.
- My Mother, the Mermaid – Director: Park Heung-shik
- Innocence – Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
- The Neighbor No. Thirteen – Director: Yasuo Inoue
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- Mariko's 30 Pirates – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
- Be the World for Her – Director: Daisuke Hosaka
[edit] 2006 Awards
Held February 23-27, 2006.
- Blood Rain – Director: Kim Dae-seung
- Never Belongs to Me – Director: Nam Ki-woong
- Citizen Dog – Director: Wisit Sasanatieng
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- nama-natsu – Director: Keisuke Yoshida
- Hakko – Director: Madoka Kumagai
[edit] 2007 Awards
No awards - festival cancelled.
[edit] 2008 Awards
Held March 19-23, 2008.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- A Woman Who Is Beating the Earth (大地を叩く女, Daichi o tataku onna?) – Director: Tsuki Inoue
- Coming with My Brother (お姉ちゃん、弟といく, One-chan, otōto to iku?) – Director: Kouta Yoshida
- Seikilos and I (セイキロスさんとわたしく, Seikilos-san to Watashi?) – Director: Kenji Itoso & Hiroshi Kamebuchi
[edit] 2009 Awards
Held February 26-March 2, 2009.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
- SR: Saitama's Rapper (SR サイタマノラッパー, SR: Saitama no rappā?) – Director: Yū Irie
- Big Gun (大拳銃, Dai kenjū?) – Director: Ōhata Hajime
- Night Games (夜のゲーム, Yoru no geemu?) – Director: Choi Uian (チェ・ウィアン)
[edit] Sources