Rookie Competition

When the Heijokyo Palace was the end point of the Silk Road, Nara enjoyed its cosmopolitanism where diverse cultures in the Asian continent met one another. Nara has been the place of international exchange for 1300 years. Nara is the best place for you to enjoy the diversity of cultures and peoples.

Luciano Barisone*, the chief programmer for NIFF, has selected the works by young and promising filmmakers, who have not made more than one feature film . Their works are reviewed by our international jurors while all works are presented to the general audience during the festival. All the films from abroad will be the Japan premiere (Never screened in other places in Japan). The Golden SHIKA Award [note: "SHIKA" means deer in Japanese, one of the most famous icons of Nara] goes to the best film and its director will be given the privilege of shooting a film as a NARAtive project. We feature critically acclaimed works from diverse regions such as Israel, Mongolia, Mexico, and so forth. Don't miss them.