ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the aims and objectives of particular festivals and what it is about the selected films that capture the attention of festival jurors; from the notoriety gained through films that challenge existing political, social or religious mores, to films that reflect the auteur-rich premise of previous festival films. Dudley Andrew asserts that international film festivals add to this dilution of purity because they tempt filmmakers into stylistic postures that are calculated to sit attractively and prominently within a spectrum of other styles that the filmmaker has undoubtedly already examined. contrast to Hollywood, international film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin can be seen to have a more open and multi-cultured approach to film aesthetics. The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has been in operation since 1985, and offers a showcase for Japanese film and, of course, for bringing foreign films to Japan.
