ABOUT
It is the ability to manipulate language and writing that makes us human. Perhaps it is for exactly this reason that human beings seek forms of expression that do not rely on language. Moving images are a late addition to the lineage that includes physical expression such as song and dance, pictures, music, and so on, and are flourishing in the present era. It is also a fact, however, that every so often incisive words such as those found in Jonas MEKAS’ manifesto or MATSUMOTO Toshio’s Discovery of Moving Images stimulate many filmmakers and contribute to the development of moving image expression. Image Forum Festival 2025’s special programs shed light on this kind of relationship between moving images and “language.” Along with viewing films, through lectures by leading critics, scholars and curators, we hope to provide a venue for rediscovering the appeal of cinema and moving images from the perspective of language and create an opportunity for the buds of new expression to bloom.
▶︎ This year’s open call section, the East Asian Experimental Competition, has received a total of 530 entries from across the region, including Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan — the highest number in the festival’s history. Following a careful two-stage selection process, 20 films have been nominated for prizes. These nominated films will be evaluated by the three invited jurors during the screenings in Tokyo, and the six award-winning titles to be announced at the awards ceremony on the final day of the Tokyo program.
▶︎ The festival will also present the Experimental Panorama, a curated section offering a rich and varied selection of worldwide film screenings; the Filmmakers In Focus, featuring KAMIOKA Fumie, one of the leading figures in the rise of women filmmakers in 1990s Japan; and the Rooftop “LIVE” Theater, which offers outdoor rooftop screenings at SHIBUYA SKY, 229 meters above the city of Shibuya.
▶︎ As part of its educational outreach, the festival will also host Experimental Cinema in Words: Special Screening and Critical Writing Workshop 2025, which combines film screenings with lectures led by four prominent critics and curators. This unique program is designed to support and inspire the next generation of critical voices in the field. Participation is by advance registration only.
PROGRAM
East Asian Experimental Competition
Program A,B,C,D,E
Films and Words 1: Contemporary Art, Experimental Cinema, and Their Intersection
Program F
Films and Words 2: Seeing an Invisible Hand
Program G
Films and Words 3: Mueda, Memory and Massacre
Program H
Films and Words 4: Ten Skies
Program I
Films and Words 5: Collective Monologue
Program J
Films and Words 6: GOSHOGAOKA
Program K
Machinima: Cruising in the Realm of the Unreal
Program L
Pioneers: Lithuanian Documentaries Directed by Women
Program M
Réka BUCSI + Current Art Animations from Europe
Program N
Paolo GIOLI: The Trembling Eye
Program O
Filmmakers In Focus – KAMIOKA Fumie: From Memory Images to Inner Images
Program P
ROOFTOP "LIVE" THEATER
Program SKY1, SKY2, SKY3, SKY4
<Talking and Writing about Experimental Cinema> Special Screening + Critical Workshop 2025
Workshop
Installation “Blinking Eyes”
InstallationSymposium
SymposiumSCHEDULE
【KYOTO】Demachiza *Schedule to be announced on the theater website（https://demachiza.com）
【NAGOYA】Nagoyakinema Neu *Schedule to be announced on the theater website（https://nk-neu.com）
MAP&TICKET
Contact：Image Forum Festival 2025 TEL: +81-3-5766-0116
TOKYO
ACCESS
【TOKYO】Theatre Image Forum
2-10-2 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo [MAP]
TEL: +81-3-5766-0114
– 8minute walk from the JR, Tokyo Metro and Tokyu Shibuya Station. Turning right at a signal, a block away towards Omotesando from the top of the Miyamamasu-zaka Slope.
– 10minute walk from the Tokyo Metro Omotesando Station. Heading Aoyama-dori Street towards Shibuya, turning left at the third signal.
http://www.imageforum.co.jp/theatre/
【TOKYO】SHIBUYA SKY
2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
(Direct access from and right above Shibuya Station) [MAP]
https://www.shibuya-scramble-square.com/sky/
TICKET
◎THEATRE IMAGE FORUM
General ¥1,500 / Student ¥800 / Senior (over-sixties) ¥1,300 / Person with disabilities ¥1,000 / Member ¥1,000
[A sheet of four coupon tickets] ¥4,000
All seats specified. Seat reservation tickets will be sold from 3 days prior to each screening at ticket counter in Theatre Image Forum or online ( https://imageforum.sboticket.net/ ). Coupon tickets can be exchanged with seat reservation tickets from 3 days prior to each screening only at ticket counter. Same-day tickets will be sold from 10:30am at ticket counter.
◎SHIBUYA SKY
¥3,400
Admission available with a valid SHIBUYA SKY ticket (for the event date) or a SHIBUYA SKY PASSPORT (annual pass).
Ticket details: https://www.shibuya-scramble-square.com/sky/ticket/
*Web tickets available up to 2 weeks in advance. Sales for this event start on Fri, Sept 19.
*Limited ticket availability. Tickets may sell out for preferred time slots.
*Tickets are issued in 20-minute entry slots. Early entry is not permitted.
*Allow ample time to reach the rooftop from the 14F ticket counter. (Up to 40 minutes may be required.)
*Entry restrictions may apply in rooftop areas during peak hours.
*Event may be canceled or interrupted due to weather. Cancellation/change policy: https://shibuya-scramble-square.com/sky/faq/
*No cancellations after entry.
*Prohibited items apply on the rooftop.
Details: https://www.shibuya-scramblesquare.com/sky/ticket/#sec-note
*Re-entry is not allowed after exit.
【Talk Show Participation】
Special ticket required (SHIBUYA SKY admission ticket not valid for this event). Special ticket holders do not need a separate SHIBUYA SKY ticket for event day.
Info will be updated on the special site:
https://www.shibuya-scramble-square.com/sky/rooftop_live_theater/
KYOTO
ACCESS
【KYOTO】Demachi za
133 Miyoshicho Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 602-0823（出町桝形商店街内）[MAP]
TEL: +81-75-203-9862
– 5 minute walk from Exit 5 of Demachiyanagi Station (Keihan, Eizan Electric Railway starting station).
– 10 minute walk from Exit 3 of Imadegawa Station (Kyoto Municipal Subway).
https://demachiza.com
TICKET
General ¥1,500 / Student ¥1,000 / Senior (over-sixties) ¥1,300 / Member (Demachi za) ¥1,000
[A sheet of four coupon tickets] ¥4,000
All seats specified. Please reserve your seat at the ticket counter on the first floor, by exchanging with the same-day ticket purchased from the ticket vending machine, coupon ticket, or invitation ticket.
Doors open 5 minutes before the screening starts. If you will be late for the starting time, you may not be able to take a specified seat.
You can make a reservation by phone. (TEL: +81-75-203-9862 / Reception hours 10:30am – 10:30pm)
NAGOYA
ACCESS
【NAGOYA】Nagoyakinema Neu
2F, Imaike Star Building, 1-6-13 Imaike, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya [MAP]
TEL: +81-52-734-7467
– 3 minutes on foot from Imaike Station, Exit 9 or 10, on the Higashiyama Subway Line or Sakura-dori Subway Line.
– 10 minutes on foot from Chikusa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line or Higashiyama Subway Line.
https://nk-neu.com
TICKET
General ¥1,500 / Student ¥1,000 / Senior (over-sixties) ¥1,300 / Person with disabilities ¥1,000 / Member (Nagoyakinema Neu) ¥1,000
[A sheet of four coupon tickets] ¥4,000
Seat reservation tickets will be sold from 10 days prior to each screening at ticket counter in Nagoyakinema Neu or online ( https://nkneu.sboticket.net/ ).
Coupon tickets can be exchanged with seat reservation tickets from 10 days prior to each screening only at ticket counter.
*Closed on Tuesdays.
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