Rolf de Heer Leads the Jury as Tokyo's 39th Film Festival Gets Under Way

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival is under way, running from 26 October to 4 November, with Dutch-Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer as president of the competition jury.

The festival first announced de Heer's role in September, according to the Tokyo International Film Festival. He is based in Tasmania, Australia, and has written or co-written 14 original and adapted screenplays, the festival's jury page says.

He is joined on the jury by four other figures from the film business. French film colourist and producer Yov Moor works on the colour and mood of finished pictures. South Korean producer Oh Jungwan, Japanese actress Makiko Watanabe and Taiwanese-American producer Alex C. Lo complete the panel.

Fifteen films are competing for the Tokyo Grand Prix, the festival's top award, according to Hollywood Reporter's coverage of the jury press conference. The jury will decide the winners from that group.

The festival also holds an official A-list designation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, known as FIAPF. That body sets the rules and rankings for major international festivals, so the label signals a festival's standing among its peers.

For a general audience, a festival jury is a small group of working film people who watch every competition entry and vote on the prizes. Their names matter because juries bring their own experience of making, editing and selling films to the table. This year's panel spans a Dutch-Australian filmmaker, a colourist, two producers and an actress, and it will shape which films leave Tokyo with awards.

The festival closes on 4 November, when the winners are announced.