Rolf de Heer, the Tasmania-based director behind Bad Boy Bubby and Ten Canoes, has been named President of the International Competition jury at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Over a career spanning more than 40 years as a director, screenwriter and producer, de Heer has built an internationally acclaimed body of work that moves freely across subjects and cinematic forms while keeping humanity and society at its center. Bad Boy Bubby (1993) took both the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize in Venice, and four of his films have been part of Cannes’ Official Selection, among them Ten Canoes (2006), winner of the Special Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard.
This year, TIFF’s World Focus section will feature “Australia Spotlight,” a special showcase of Australian cinema presented in cooperation with the Australian Embassy in Japan. As part of Australia Spotlight, de Heer’s The Survival of Kindness (2022), which was selected for the Competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, will be screened.
Decades of Singular Vision Come to the Competition Jury
Having spent decades pursuing his own singular approach to filmmaking, de Heer will bring a distinctive eye to this year’s Competition lineup.
For Rolf de Heer, joining the jury is a privilege, all the more so for a working filmmaker.
“The more films I manage to make, the fewer films I manage to see, especially on the big screen,”
he said. On the jury, he will have “the duty, the obligation” to watch the 15 Competition titles, made by filmmakers from all over the world, and discuss them with fellow filmmakers, all in a city he describes as home to “one of the most formidable film cultures in the world.” He added:
“Can life ever get much better than this?”
Festival Director Hisamatsu Takeo said TIFF is delighted to welcome de Heer, whose distinctive perspective and unwavering commitment to filmmaking have opened up new possibilities in cinema for decades. He added that he looks forward to “the fresh dialogue and discoveries” de Heer‘s experience and insight will bring to this year’s Competition and its diverse selection of films.
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