Tokyo names 15-strong Gala slate led by Pascal, Fan Bingbing and Malkovich
Pedro Pascal, Fan Bingbing, John Malkovich and Javier Bardem will lead the Gala line-up at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, which has named 15 titles for the strand, according to Variety.
The Galas are the festival's high-profile red-carpet section, reserved for star-driven titles and recent festival favourites. The 39th edition runs Oct. 26 to Nov. 4 and is hosted by Unijapan.
Wayne Wang's "Diary of a Mad Old Man" brings Fan Bingbing to Tokyo alongside Lily Franky and Kudoh Youki. The film adapts Tanizaki Junichiro's novel and moves the story to present-day Tokyo.
Tony Gilroy's "Behemoth!" casts Pascal as a cellist, with Olivia Wilde and Eva Victor in support. The casting puts one of Hollywood's busiest actors into an orchestral world far from his recent screen roles.
Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" stars Malkovich with Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi. It follows two CIA agents sent to Easter Island. Malkovich won the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival for the role, according to Variety.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen's "The Beloved" pairs Bardem with Victoria Luengo as an estranged father and daughter. The Spanish-language drama arrives in Tokyo after its European launch.
The selection leans heavily on Cannes. Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord," which won the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes, stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. Sode Yukiko's "All the Lovers in the Night," adapted from Kawakami Mieko's novel, played in Un Certain Regard, Cannes' second main section for distinctive work.
Tokyo has already set its bookends. The opening film is "Sukiyaki," the centrepiece is "Godzilla Minus Zero" and the closing film is "Colony," according to Variety. The festival site lists "Sukiyaki" and "Godzilla Minus Zero" as 2026 titles from Japan and "Colony" as a 2026 title from Korea.
For buyers and sellers, the dates matter. Market TIFFCOM, where distributors buy and sell rights to films across territories, runs alongside the festival from Oct. 28 to 30. The festival has also unveiled a 12-title Animation Section, keeping animation as a separate strand within the programme.
