# Tokyo Festival’s Women’s Empowerment Lineup Follows Those Who ‘Fall Through the Cracks’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/tokyo-festivals-womens-empowerment-lineup-follows-those-who-fall-through-the-cracks/
- Published: 2026-10-26T06:14:29+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T07:12:55+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals/tokyo-film-festival-womens-empowerment-section-belonging-shimizu-yu-1236930973/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- TIFF’s seven-film section explores people excluded by social and political systems.
- “Her Gaze” highlights women cinematographers from Japan and Taiwan.
- Organisers hope to expand the programme in future years.

## Summary

The Tokyo International Film Festival’s Women’s Empowerment section centres on people displaced or excluded by political instability and social systems, a theme programmer Shimizu Yu says reflects those who “fall through the cracks”. Now in its third year, the programme aims to affirm viewers’ experiences through detailed portrayals while highlighting films by women.

The section includes seven films, among them Manuela Martelli’s *The Meltdown* and Zou Jing’s *A Girl Unknown*. Alongside screenings, the “Her Gaze” event spotlights women cinematographers from Japan and Taiwan, including pioneers in technical roles historically dominated by men. Organisers also plan to expand the section into new areas, while Shimizu says the films are selected on their merits and that experimental cinema can challenge how women are viewed on screen.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.