Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival
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. 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. 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: Volume 1, "Gogo Yubari". In 1996 the festival also had special guest stars, comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. In 2004 the festival drew a record audience of 27,000. 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. One of the sponsors for the festival is the giant Japanese satellite broadcasting company SKYPerfecTV! which has also broadcast parts of the program. The scaled down 2008 festival drew more than 8,800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009. The 32nd edition of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival will be held from July 28 to August 1 2022. Award information from: = Held February 14–18, 1990. Grand Prize Ofelas – Director: Nils Gaup Special Prize Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds – Director: Alex Proyas OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Takeshita Performance Higei Mito-Komon – Director: Sinya Takesita Special Prize Gig – Director: Kosuke Ienaga Toroma Prize Meilin Adventure – Director: Satoshi Imai = Held February 15–19, 1991. Grand Prize The Miracle in Valby (Miraklet i Valby) – Director: Åke Sandgren Special Jury Prize Windwalker – Director: Kieth Merrill Critic's Award Miller's Crossing – Director: Joel Coen OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Death Express – Director: Hiroyuki Terada Jury Prize Rice Game – Director: Hideaki Kobayashi = Held February 14–18, 1992. Grand Prize The Swordsman in Double Flag Town – Director: He Ping Special Jury Prize A Demon in My View – Director: Petra Haffter Critic's Award Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – Director: Shinya Tsukamoto OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Diamonds Moon – Director: Akira Nobi Jury Prize Kappas – Director: Katsuya Ohsawa = Held February 19–23, 1993. Grand Prize Children of Nature – Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson Special Jury Prize Winds of God – Director: Yoko Narahashi Critic's Award Reservoir Dogs – Director: Quentin Tarantino Citizen's Award Ninja Scroll – Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Trash – Director: Naoki Kubo Jury Prize My Daddy Long Legs – Director: Shin Yasuhara = Held February 18–22, 1994. Grand Prize Killing Zoe – Director: Roger Roberts Avary Special Jury Prize 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 Grand Prize Family Time – Director: Ryota Kawaguchi Jury Prize My Favorite "Skyline" – Director: Shin Yasuhara Vending Machine and a Girl – Director: Kiyohide Otani = Held February 17–21, 1995. Grand Prize Tombés du ciel – Director: Philippe Lioret Special Jury Prize The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb – Director: Dave Borthwick Minami Toshiko Award Wizard of Darkness – Director: Shimako Sato OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize The Incredible Haniwa Man – Director: Shin Yasuhara Jury Prize Anatomia Extinction – Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura A Room Without Wind – Director: Ryuta Miyake = Held February 18–20, 1996. Grand Prize Accumulator 1 – Director: Jan Svěrák Special Jury Prize Manneken Pis – Director: Frank Van Passel Minami Toshiko Award Secret Waltz – Director: Akira Nobi OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Brain Holiday – Director: Hineki Mito Jury Prize Blood Red Girls – Director: Daisuke Yamanouchi Encouragement Prize Rest Room – Director: Muneyoshi Murakami To Be or Not to Be – Director: Tomoko Matsunashi = Held February 14–18, 1997. Grand Prize Closing Time – Director: Masahiro Kobayashi Special Jury Prize Little Sister – Director: Robert Jan Westdijk Minami Toshiko Award Drive – Director: Steve Wang OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Party – Director: Mayumi Uchiumi Jury Prize L&D – Director: Hideki Kimura = Held February 13–17, 1998. Grand Prize Bernie – Director: Albert Dupontel Jean-Hugues Anglade Award Detective Riko – Director: Satoshi Isaka Adventure Film Prize The Ground – Director: Atsushi Muroga Minami Toshiko Award Illtown – Director: Nick Gomez OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Midnight Three – Director: Yasushi Koshizaka Special Jury Prize Variation for Movements – Director: Yoshinao Sato Encouragement Prize Kurushime Girl – Director: Noboru Iguchi = Held February 19–23, 1999. Grand Prize Bandits – Director: Katja von Garnier Special Jury Prize / Minami Toshiko Award Moonlight Whispers – Director: Akihiko Shiota OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Tel-Club – Director: Kenji Murakami Special Jury Prize Kiadoryoku REAL – Director: Katsushi Boda = Held February 18–22, 2000. Grand Prize Across a Gold Prairie – Director: Isshin Inudou Special Jury Prize Pups – Director: Ash Minami Toshiko Award Jin-Roh – Director: Hiroyuki Okiura OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Hazy Life – Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita Special Jury Prize Let's Go Strawberry Girl – Director: Shinobu Kuribayashi = Held February 15–19, 2001. Grand Prize New Year's Day – Director: Suri Krishnamma Special Jury Prize Animals – Director: Michael Di Jiacomo Minami Toshiko Award Siam Sunset – Director: John Polson OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Tokyo A Go Go – Director: Ryuichi Honda Special Jury Prize L'Ilya – Director: Tomoya Sato = Held February 14–18, 2002. Grand Prize My Sassy Girl – Director: Kwak Jae-yong OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Run! Yamazaki! Run! – Director: Naoko Johnori Special Jury Prize Nuts – Director: Yoko Chukira / Tomokazu / Shu Kageyama = Held February 13–17, 2003. Grand Prize Battlefield Baseball (Jigoku Koushien) – Director: Yūdai Yamaguchi OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Bijo-can – Director: Masaya Kakei Special Jury Prize Ski Jumping Pairs – Director: Riichiro Mashima = Held February 19–23, 2004. Grand Prize Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise – Director: Kim Ji-hoon Special Jury Prize Robot Stories – Director: Greg Pak Minami Toshiko Award Better Than Sex – Director: Su Chao-pin & Lee Feng-bor OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize The Far East Apartment – Director: Tetsuya Mariko Special Jury Prize Utsu-musume SAYURI – Director: Takashi Kimura = Held February 24–28, 2005. Grand Prize My Mother, the Mermaid – Director: Park Heung-sik Special Jury Prize Innocence – Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović Minami Toshiko Award The Neighbor No. Thirteen – Director: Yasuo Inoue OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Mariko's 30 Pirates – Director: Tetsuya Mariko Special Jury Prize Be the World for Her – Director: Daisuke Hosaka = Held February 23–27, 2006. Grand Prize Blood Rain – Director: Kim Dae-seung Special Jury Prize Never Belongs to Me – Director: Nam Ki-woong Minami Toshiko Award Citizen Dog – Director: Wisit Sasanatieng OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Raw Summer (Nama-natsu) – Director: Keisuke Yoshida Special Jury Prize Hakko – Director: Madoka Kumagai = No awards - festival cancelled. = Held March 19–23, 2008. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize A Woman Who Is Beating the Earth (大地を叩く女, Daichi o tataku onna) – Director: Tsuki Inoue Special Jury Prize Coming with My Brother (お姉ちゃん、弟といく, One-chan, otōto to iku) – Director: Kouta Yoshida Governor's Award Seikilos and I (セイキロスさんとわたしく, Seikilos-san to Watashi) – Director: Kenji Itoso & Hiroshi Kamebuchi = Held February 26-March 2, 2009. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize 8000 Miles (SR サイタマノラッパー, SR: Saitama no rappā) – Director: Yū Irie Special Jury Prize Big Gun (大拳銃, Dai kenjū) – Director: Ōhata Hajime Governor's Award Night Games (夜のゲーム, Yoru no geemu) – Director: Choi Uian (チェ・ウィアン) = Held February 25-March 1, 2010. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Hot as Hell: The Deadbeat March (青春墓場～明日と一緒に歩くのだ～, Seishun Hakaba Ashita to Issho ni Aruku no da) – Director: Yōsuke Okuda Special Jury Prize Footed Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno Governor's Award Wall (壁, Kabe) – Director: ヒョン・スルウ Cinegar Award Footed Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno = Held February 24–28, 2011. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Invasion of Alien Bikini (겨울냄새) – Director: Oh Young-Doo Special Jury Prize Pink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa Governor's Award Violence PM (バイオレンスPM, Baiorensu PM) – Director: Takayuki Ishihara Cinegar Award Pink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa = Held February 23–27, 2012 with a total attendance at 12,500. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Osaka Violence (大阪外道, Ōsaka gedō) – Director: Takahiro Ishihara Special Jury Prize The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki Governor's Award The Beatles (ビートルズ, Bītoruzu) – Director: Yuichiro Sakashita Cinegar Award The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki Best Actress Nahana for Toilet and Women (どんずまり便器, Donzumari Benki) Best Actor Hiroki Konno for The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) Audience Award Ultraman Saga (ウルトラマンサーガ, Urutoramansāga) - Director: Hideki Oka Event Award Namba Kinyu-den Minami no Teio Toichi no Manda Ginjiro - Director: Takaaki Haginiwa Public Award Puss in Boots (長ぐつをはいたネコ, Nagagutsu o Haita Neko) Public People Award The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki = Held February 21–25, 2013. Attendance was about 12,500. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda Special Jury Prize A Case of Eggs - Director: Yuri Kanchiku Governor's Award Winter Alpaca - Director: Yuji Harada Cinegar Award There Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda = Announced March 2, 2014 OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba Special Jury Prize Gun Woman - Director: Mitsutake Kurando Governor's Award School Girls' Gestation - Director: Ueda Atsushi Cinegar Award The Pinkie - Director: Lisa Takeba Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award Old Men Never Die - Director: Wang Cheol-min (South Korea) = Announced on February 24, 2015 OFF THEATRE COMPETITION Grand Prize Makeup Room - Director: Kei Morikawa Special Jury Prize The Limit of Sleeping Beauty - Director: Ninomiya Ken Governor's Award Haman - Director: Tetsuya Okabe Cinegar Award Mizo - Director: Nam Ki Woong (South Korea) Sky Perfect Movie Channel Award Luv ya Hun! - Director: Daigo Matsui "Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival". [IMdB]. Niskanen, Eija (July 13, 2009). "Yubari Hangs Steadily On". Midnight Eye. ""Waseda rules" Yubari International Film Festival". [www.yomiuri.co.jp].