FESTIVAL & AWARD
What is the Pia Film Festival?
Pia Film Festival (PFF) takes place at the National Film Archive of Japan in September. The PFF celebrates the culture of Self-Produced Film (Jishu-Eiga) and provides many opportunities of rich experience of cinema to both young filmmakers and audiences through various programs since the establishment in 1977.
The Gallery of the PFF
We have collaborated with several artists who created special designs of the festival posters, ads and catalogues.
- The collaboration with Tadanori Yokoo (1992)
- The collaboration with Taiyo Matsumoto (1994 - 1997)
- The collaboration with Mitsuru Watabe (2007 - 2017)
What is the PFF Award?
PFF’s competition was introduced in 1988, and is open to any film completed after March in the previous year. There is no restriction on length, format, genre, nationality or the gender of the filmmaker. Given the problem of defining “Self-Produced Film” in these changing times, PFF opts to accept as “Self-Produced” any film so defined by its director. The submission of films for competition closes in March each year, and every title is seen by at least three members of a fifteen-member pre-selection committee. The rule is: no stopping or fast-forwarding once a film has started. In the second stage of selection, all films which have survived the first stage are seen by all fifteen members of the pre-selection committee. This committee then finalises the choice of films for competition. These films are seen in the festival by an invited jury of professional artists, who deliberate and decide on the prize-winners. The result is announced at a ceremony during the festival.
Previous Editions
Recent PFF Awarded Films at Oversea Festivals
Our House
- Director : Yui Kiyohara
- PFF Award Competiton 2017 | GRAND PRIZE
There are two worlds in this house. One where a mother and daughter reside, and another where two women reside. The two worlds begin to cross, gradually disrupting the lives of those involved. What will happen when everything connects?
- 80min/color
| 68th Berlin International Film Festival | Germany |
| 47th MOMA New Directors New Films | United States |
| 18th Curitiba International Film Festival - Grand Prix at Other Views Section | Brazil |
| Shanghai International Film Festival 2018 - Best Director at Asian New Talent Award | Chile |
| Northwest Film Center2018 | United States |
| SPAIN MOVING IMAGES FESTIVAL 2018 | Spain |
| 20th Taipei Film Festival | Taiwan |
| 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival | Korea |
| Melbourne International Film Festival2018 | Australia |
| Japan Film Festival of San Francisco2018 | United States |
| Jappanual - Japanische Filmtage in Wien2018 | Austria |
| 25th Festival International de Cine de Valdivia | Chile |
| Brisbane Interntaional Film Festival2018 | Austria |
| Cinemateque Busan Focus on Japanese Films in the 21st Century | Korea |
| Australian Cinematheque | Australia |
| Kaohsiung Film Archive - A Japan Independent Era – Best Selection of PIA Film Festival 2018 | Taiwan |
AMIKO
- Director : Yoko Yamanaka
- PFF Award Competiton 2017 | Audience Award & Hikari TV Award
Amiko, a high school girl, adores Aomi to the point of nearly worshipping him. But one day, he runs away from home. Amiko's sometimes cynical, sometimes self-deprecating inner monologue goes off like vibrant stand-up comedy.
- 66min/color
| 68th Berlin International Film Festival | Germany |
| 42nd Hong Kong International Film Festival | Hong Kong |
| Fantasia International Film Festival2018 - Special Mention | Canada |
| 47th International Student Film Festival | Germany |
| 19th Jeonju International Film Festival | Korea |
| SPAIN MOVING IMAGES FESTIVAL 2018 | Spain |
| 12th JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film | United States |
| 3rd Quito International Film Festival | Ecuador |
| The One International Women's Film Festival | China |
| Jappanual - Japanische Filmtage in Wien | Austria |
| 25th Festival International de Cine de Valdivia | Chile |
| Kaohsiung Film Archive - A Japan Independent Era – Best Selection of PIA Film Festival 2018 | Taiwan |
| Japan Film Festival Singapore2019 | Singapore |
OW
- Director : Yohei Suzuki
- PFF Award Competiton 2014
An incident occurs in an ordinary house in which a father attempts to commit suicide with his son. Only the father dies from a gunshot. His younger son Tetsuo and his girlfriend Yuriko witness the death, and from that day on their time literally stops. As Deguchi, a reporter, investigates the case on his own, he loses his way in a world that is absurd to the extreme. When people see the disquieting sphere that appears, time stops and the world warps. What it signifies is left up to the interpretation of the audience.
- 89min/color
| 44th MOMA New Directors New Films | United States |
| 45th Rotterdam International Film Festival | Netherlands |
| 15th Viennale International Film Festival | Austria |
| 17th Taipei Film Festival | Taiwan |
| Northwest Film Center | United States |
| 33rd Vancouver International Film Festival | Canada |
ANATOMY OF A PAPER CLIP
- Director : Akira Ikeda
- PFF Award Competiton 2013 | SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Kogure gets a job in a factory that produces paperclips by hand from wires. He works monotonously day after day in a rough working environment under an overbearing manager. One day, Kogure finds a butterfly trapped in his apartment room and sets it free. He then comes home from work to find a woman who speaks a strange dialect inside his apartment. The next day, a man who appears to be the woman's father settles in the apartment as well, and the odd trio starts living together. But their relationship gradually begins to change after a certain incident.
- 99min/color
| 43rd Rotterdam International Film Festival - Grand Prix at Hivos Tiger Competition | Netherlands |
| 32nd Vancouver International Film Festival - Grand Prix at Dragons & Tigers Award | Canada |
| 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival | Scotland |
| 31st Jerusalem International Film Festival | Israel |
| 50th Odessa International Film Festival | Ukraine |
| 39th Seoul Independent Film Festival | Korea |
| 18th Busan International Film Festival | Korea |
| 37th Göteborg International Film Festival | Sweden |
| 30th Ｗarsaw Film Festival | Poland |
| 16th Taipei Film Festival | Taiwan |
| Kaohsiung Film Archive - A Japan Independent Era – Best Selection of PIA Film Festival 2018 | Taiwan |
THE CHARM OF OTHERS
- Director : Ryutaro Ninomiya
- PFF Award Competiton 2012 | RUNNER-UP AWARD
A group of men works at a factory that fixes vending machines. Yoda is a quiet man, always keeping a distance from the others and spending his time by himself. Takahashi is a senior worker who doesn't like Yoda's attitude. Oshima warns Takahashi not to be that way. Sakata, a coworker, greets Yoda every day, trying to make friends with him. One day, Takahashi lets loose his dissatisfaction with Yoda. Because of that and some private problems, Yoda irritably walks through the city at night and runs into a slightly drunk Sakata who is on his way home from a party.
- 92min./color
| 42nd Rotterdam International Film Festival | Netherlands |
| 31st Vancouver International Film Festival | Canada |
| Kino Otok - Isola Cinema Film Festival2013 | Slovenia |