Tokyo Filmex 2012

Coming a month after Tokyo International Film Festival, Filmex offers succour to cinephiles left underwhelmed by its more high-profile rival. Focussing on auteur filmmakers, particularly those working in Asia and the Middle East, it's a good opportunity to catch up on some of the notable flicks that have been doing the rounds on the international festival circuit, as well as check out some homegrown talent. This year's fest focuses on Israel, with two films in competition (Sharon Bar-Ziv's Room 154 and Amir Manor's Epilogue) and a short retrospective of classic Israeli cinema. 2010 Grand Prize winner Nobuteru Uchida has a new film in competition, Odayaka, with other contenders including Hao Jie's crowd-pleasing The Love Songs of Tiedan and Kim Hee-Jung's hotly anticipated Grape Candy. Outside of competition, look out for opening film In Another Country (pictured); Kim Ki-duk's Pietà, the divisive winner of the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film International Festival; and a new edit of Sion Sono's legendary unfinished 1995 work, Bad Film. Advance tickets go on sale on November 3; see the official website for a complete schedule and program.