The
Tokyo International Film Festival, on Thursday, announced the opening and closing
films for its 33rd annual edition. The event that is considered as Japan’s largest cinema
occasion, will start on October 31 with the premiere of Masaharu Take’s boxing
drama “Underdog”. Filmmaker Hajime Hashimoto will bring the festival to a close
on November 9 with the world debut of “Hokusai”, a biopic of the great Japanese
ukiyo-e painter and printmaker.

The selection of two Japanese filmmakers to bookend the
programming reflects the local form the festival is expected to take under the
restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Festival organisers
have stated that they intend to hold physical screenings across the Japanese
capital as usual as a step ” to enable audiences to experience the joy of
watching films on the big screen” . However, there will be ongoing
restrictions on inbound travel from most countries around the world thereby
affecting the international attendance.

“Underdog” depicts the lives of three fighters left behind by
life who cross fists in the ring to attempt their comebacks.

“Underdog was filmed in January and February 2020,
capturing scenes we have lost due to COVID-19. Boxers, the lonely people in the
ring, cannot continue to beat and be beaten without the audiences’ cheers. The
audience creates the match and continues to talk about it. Sometimes it’s an
incredible match. But it’s not a match with only one viewer. Life is similar to
this, and I think filmmaking is, too. The audience completes the film in the
end,” Take said in a statement, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

“Hokusai” stars Yuya Yagira as the young Hokusai and Min
Tanaka as the artist in later years. The festival said the film provides
“a unique perspective and interpretation” of the artist’s legendary
talent, known as known as the “Secret of Three Waves.”

“The history of film was nurtured in the darkness of
movie theaters. Now this darkness is undergoing rapid change. It is easy to say
that this is the flow of time. Darkness is a place where strangers sit together,
cry, laugh, get angry and enjoy themselves. We put our hopes for Hokusai in
such a place. Please enjoy it…in the dark,” Hashimoto said in a statement.

The event’s full screening selection will be unveiled on
September 29.