The period thriller “11 Rebels” will kick off the Tokyo International Film Festival next month. Directed by the renowned Shiraishi Kazuya and based on an unproduced screenplay by the late Kasahara Kazuo, the film features prominent actors Yamada Takayuki and Nakano Taiga.
Festival organizers are enthusiastic about the film, anticipating it will make a powerful start to the event, which runs from October 28 to November 6 in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area.
The festival will close with the French-Italian comedy “Marcello Mio,” directed by Christophe Honoré. The film stars Chiara Mastroianni as a character who transforms into her real-life father, the acclaimed director Marcello Mastroianni. This film, which premiered at Cannes in May, serves as both a tribute to Mastroianni and an experimental piece, featuring many actors, including Mastroianni herself, playing under their real names. It also marks the 100th anniversary of Marcello Mastroianni’s birth, according to Tokyo programming director Ichiyama Shozo.
“11 Rebels” delves into the historical betrayal by the Shibata clan of Niigata during the Boshin War, Japan’s most intense conflict. The narrative follows an 11-member suicide squad tasked with defending a fortress amidst clashing interests between the Shibata clan, the old shogunate, and the new government.
Scheduled for distribution by Toei on November 1, the film participated in the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market during TIFFCOM last year, part of the festival’s industry market.
Ichiyama praised the film for continuing the tradition of high-quality ensemble period dramas, highlighting its exceptional production values, including action sequences and set design. He also noted its importance in bringing attention to historically overlooked individuals.
