Film festival

An event where many films are gathered together and screened. Usually, it refers to an international film festival in which many countries participate, but it can also refer to an event where one country screens its own films abroad for the purpose of promoting exports and cultural exchange. The history of the international film festival began in 1932 in Venice, Italy, but it was suspended during World War II. After the war, it was resumed in Cannes, France, and then Venice, and was further established in Berlin, Moscow, and other places, becoming more popular over the years. Japan had already won the award in Venice in 1938 with "Five Scouts," but after World War II, Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" won the Grand Prix in Venice in 1951, and works by Kenji Mizoguchi, Kaneto Shindo, Kon Ichikawa, Masaki Kobayashi, Nagisa Oshima and others won the award one after another, raising the artistic acclaim of Japanese films. In that sense, international film festivals have the character of an international competition of film art, but they also have the character of a trade fair that provides a place for film trade by screening many films, and can also be used for various purposes such as promoting exchanges between filmmakers, promoting collaborations, and holding research conferences. Large-scale film festivals such as Cannes and Moscow can have more than 80 participating countries and more than 200 films screened. There are many types of international film festivals, including those that focus only on short films, or those that focus on specific genres such as science fiction and animation. Traditionally, they have been held mainly in Europe and the United States, but in recent years they have also begun to be held in Asia, including India and Hong Kong, and there are now more than 100 film festivals held around the world each year.

In Japan, more than a dozen international film festivals are held, including the Tokyo International Film Festival (initially held every two years, but since the fourth festival in 1991 it has been held annually), the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. In addition, works by not only the aforementioned directors but also those of Shinoda Masahiro, Imamura Shohei, Kumai Kei, Kitano Takeshi, and Kawase Naomi have won awards at overseas film festivals, coming to support Japanese films of a wide range of generations.

[Naoki Togawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

多数の映画を一堂に集めて上映する催し。普通、多くの国が参加する国際映画祭をさすが、一つの国が輸出振興や文化交流の目的で自国の映画を外国で上映する催しをさすこともある。国際映画祭の歴史は1932年イタリアのベネチアでの開催に始まるが、第二次世界大戦で中断され、戦後フランスのカンヌ、ついでベネチアで再開、さらにベルリン、モスクワなど各地に設けられ、年とともに盛んになった。日本はすでに1938年（昭和13）にベネチアで『五人の斥候兵(せっこうへい)』などが受賞したが、第二次世界大戦後は1951年のベネチアで黒澤明(くろさわあきら)の『羅生門(らしょうもん)』がグランプリを受賞したのに始まり、溝口健二(みぞぐちけんじ)、新藤兼人(しんどうかねと)、市川崑(いちかわこん)、小林正樹(こばやしまさき)、大島渚(おおしまなぎさ)などの作品が相次いで受賞し、日本映画の芸術的評価は高まった。その意味で国際映画祭は映画芸術の国際コンクールの性格をもつが、多数の映画上映によって映画貿易の場を提供する見本市の性格をももち、また映画人の交流、合作の促進、研究会議の開催など多様な用途に供されることもある。カンヌ、モスクワなどの大規模な映画祭では参加国が80以上、参加上映200本を超えることもある。また国際映画祭には、短編だけのもの、科学映画やアニメーション映画など特定のジャンルに限定して催すものなどもあって、その種類は多い。従来おもに欧米各地で開かれてきたが、近年はインド、香港(ホンコン)などアジア地域でも開催されるようになり、世界で開かれる映画祭は年間100を超える。

　日本では東京国際映画祭（当初隔年、第4回の1991年以降毎年開催）、広島国際アニメーションフェスティバル、山形国際ドキュメンタリー映画祭など十数種の国際映画祭が開かれるほか、海外映画祭での受賞も前記のほか篠田正浩(しのだまさひろ)、今村昌平(いまむらしょうへい)、熊井啓(くまいけい)、北野武(きたのたけし)、河瀬直美(かわせなおみ)らの作品に及び、幅広い世代の日本映画が評価されるようになった。

［登川直樹］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例