Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival
| Location | Yūbari, Hokkaidō |
|---|---|
| Language | International |
| Website | http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.php?ct=main.php&langue=21002 |
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 8800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009.
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