Tokyo Film Festival: Tokyo Taxi (2025)

Tokyo Taxi, a remake of Driving Madeleine, directed by Yamada Yoji, announced as the 38th TIFF Centerpiece.

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is pleased to announce that Tokyo Taxi, from acclaimed Japanese director Yamada Yoji, will screen as the Centerpiece, the heart of the 38th edition of the festival.

This 91st feature from Yamada, produced to mark the 130th anniversary of his longtime studio, Shochiku, stars his muse Baisho Chieko (It’s Tough Being a Man series) and iconic actor-singer Kimura Takuya, who reunites with the director for the first time since 2006’s Love and Honor.

Tokyo Taxi portrays the poignant encounter between 85-year-old Madame Sumire and taxi driver Koji. The story begins when Koji picks up Sumire, who asks to be driven from Shibamata, Tokyo to a nursing home in Hayama where she has chosen to spend her last days. As they travel through Tokyo, visiting places of significance to her, Sumire opens her heart to Koji and begins to share her own tragic past. Eventually, the single day’s journey brings an unexpected miracle into their lives.

In this adaptation of the 2022 French film Driving Madeleine, Yamada Yoji—who has long captured the essence of life in Japan—crafts a heartwarming narrative that celebrates life’s enduring joys and sorrows in the ever-evolving metropolis of Tokyo. Along with Baisho and Kimura, the ensemble cast also features Aoi Yu, Sakoda Takaya, Yuka, Nakashima Runa and Korean star Lee Jun-young. TIFF is proud to present the film as our centerpiece, the very heart of the festival.

The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival will take place from 27 October (Mon) to 5 November (Wed).

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38 TIFF Unveils Full Lineup

Touts World Premieres from Acclaimed Auteurs

Rithy Panh, Zhang Lu, Chong Keat Aun in Competition

©2025 TIFF
From left: Sakashita, Takiuchi, Nakagawa

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today unveiled the full lineup and other highlights of its 38th edition in a press conference held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, one of the festival’s main venues.

As previously announced, TIFF will open with Sakamoto Junji’s Climbing for Life, based on the true-life story of legendary mountaineer Tabei Junko, and close with Academy Award® winning director Chloé Zhao’s heralded Hamnet, about the creation of William Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece Hamlet.

The 10-day festival will feature screenings and extensive related events in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area of Tokyo from October 27 to November 5, 2025.

Festival Chairman Ando Hiroyasu delivered opening remarks at the conference, highlighting three major focuses of this year’s TIFF: enhancing the festival’s international exchange initiatives, addressing gender disparity through programs to support female empowerment, and nurturing talent that will shape the industry’s future.

TIFFCOM Managing Director Ikeda Kaori then discussed TIFFCOM 2025, TIFF’s affiliated marketplace, which will be hosting its 22nd edition from October 29 to 31 at the Hamamatsucho-kan Building, a short ride from TIFF’s main venues. Ikeda highlighted the market’s role in facilitating extensive business meetings, seminars and production matching for a wide range of content—films, TV programming, animation, streaming series—as well as the sixth year of the Tokyo Gap Financing Market, which will host 23 film and animation projects from around the world.

Italian film critic Carlo Chatrian, former Artistic Director at the Berlin and Locarno film festivals and previously announced President of the International Competition Jury at the 38th TIFF, will be joined by fellow jurors Taiwanese actor Gwei Lun-Mei, French film editor Mathieu Lacroix, Japanese actor/filmmaker Saitoh Takumi, and Chinese filmmaker/producer Vivian Qu. The Asian Future Jury is comprised of Ellen Y.D. Kim, director of the Asian Contents and Film Market at the Busan International Film Festival, filmmaker Matsunaga Daishi, and Nishizawa Akihiro, programming manager of Tokyo Theatres Co., Inc.

The 38th TIFF Festival Navigator Takiuchi Kumi then appeared on stage and shared her thoughts on serving in the role, noting that she hoped to foster a dialogue with as many festival attendees as possible, and encouraging people to see as many films as possible during TIFF.

Following video clips from TIFF’s Opening Film Climbing for Life (by Sakamoto Junji), Centerpiece Film Tokyo Taxi (by Yamada Yoji), and Closing Film Hamnet (by Chloé Zhao), all of which were previously announced, TIFF Programming Director Ichiyama Shozo unveiled the 15 films chosen for the festival’s Competition section, which includes premieres from heralded auteurs Rithy Panh, Zhang Lu, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, and Chong Keat Aun.

Two Japanese directors whose work will receive world premieres in Competition then joined Ichiyama on stage to make remarks about their selection: Sakashita Yuichiro (Blonde) and Nakagawa Ryutaro (Echoes of Motherhood).

Senior Programmer Ishizaka Kenji introduced the Asian Future section lineup and provided highlights of the 10 films in competition from Japan, Southeast Asia and Iran, all of which are receiving their world premieres and will be eligible for awards. He also touted the section’s opening film, an “iconic work, Journey into Sato Tadao, about the great cinema critic who died three years ago. It’s a documentary about his years searching for Asian films, and in launching the Asian section of this festival.”

Ichiyama then introduced the films in the Gala Selection, World Focus, Nippon Cinema Now, and newly established section Asian Students’ Film Conference, as well as in other special sections of the festival.

TIFF Senior Programmer Andrijana Cvetkovikj provided an overview of the second edition of the Women’s Empowerment section, which will highlight seven films. She stressed, “Our hope is that the section does more than inspire. We want it to open doors, to build partnerships, and to create spaces where women can support and mentor one another. Above all, we want women’s voices to be heard, respected, and celebrated as an essential part of global cinema.”

TIFF Animation Programming Advisor Fujitsu Ryota unveiled the full Animation section, which will feature screenings of 12 new Japanese and international works, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s Jury Award winner, ChaO, as well as an 80th anniversary screening of Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (4K remaster), Japan’s first feature-length animated film, a propaganda work directed by Seo Mitsuyo that was produced during WWII with backing from the Ministry of the Navy.

The three films nominated for the TIFF Ethical Film Award were introduced, along with the award’s jury president, Ikeda Elaiza. As previously announced, the recipients of the Kurosawa Akira Awardare directors Lee Sang-il and Chloé Zhao, both of whom will be present at the festival. TIFF and The Japan Foundation will be co-presenting the popular TIFF Lounge for the 6th time this year, and there will be a talk session between directors Yamada Yoji and Lee Sang-il, whose box-office hit Kokuho is Japan’s official Oscar submission. Among the many other event highlights will be a forum by Cinema Connecting Japan, a Kering’s Women In Motion event.

The 38th TIFF will be held from October 27 to November 5, 2025 in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area and other venues in Tokyo.

Tokyo Taxi (2025/Japan)

Director: Yamada Yoji

Screenplay: Yamada Yoji, Asahara Yuzo

Original Film: Driving Madeleine by Christian Carion

Cast: Baisho Chieko, Kimura Takuya, Aoi Yu, Sakoda Takaya, Yuka, Nakashima Runa, Kanno Misuzu, Lee Jun-young, Makita Sports, Kitayama Masayasu, Kimura Yura, Kobayashi Nenji, Sasano Takashi

Release Date (Japan): November 21, 2025

Distribution (Japan): Shochiku Co., Ltd.

? Official Site (Japanese)

Director Yamada Yoji’s 91st film celebrates the joys of life in the ever-changing metropolis of Tokyo. Hardworking taxi driver Koji, who struggles to support his family despite his delight over his daughter’s music school acceptance. One day, he picks up 85-year-old Sumire, who asks him to drive her to a nursing home. During the ride, Sumire gradually opens her heart to Koji, and begins to tell him about her own tragic past. A remake of the French film Driving Madeleine (2022), Tokyo Taxi depicts how a single trip changes the lives of two people.

Comment from Director Yamada Yoji

It is a great pleasure that our film Tokyo Taxi, which depicts contemporary Tokyo, will be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film tells the story of a fateful day on which the hearts of a driver and a passenger, meeting by chance, connect and their lives intertwine. In these uncertain times, I sincerely hope that this film will resonate with audiences and bring light into their lives.

Comment from Ichiyama Shozo, 38th TIFF Programming Director

It was delightful to discover that Tokyo Taxi, the latest film by Japanese master Yamada Yoji, is such a light-hearted and vibrant narrative. We are truly privileged to be screening this masterpiece, which showcases the immense potential of cinema, as our Centerpiece this year.