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

PFF Award 2022

PFF Award 2021

PFF Award 2020

PFF Award 2019

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