A Film Festival Exclusively Featuring D-Cinema (Digital Cinema), the Standard Format for Motion Pictures of the 21st Century

As digital tools become more accessible, the range of expression for audio visual creators is expanding, transcending age, experience and nationality, and new business opportunities are now on the horizon. SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL is an international competitive film festival exclusively featuring films shot and edited on digital.
The festival was launched in 2004 in order to discover new talent and develop a new type of audio visual industry and has screened many innovative films from all over the world with high entertainment value that push the envelope of the digital medium. This year marks the 14th edition.

The Gateway to Success for Emerging Talent

The competition, the main category of the festival, consists of three programs, Feature Length, where we accept entries from all over the world, Short Length and Animation, both of which we accept entries produced domestically in order to support Japanese filmmakers. This year, we have received 810 entries from 85 countries and regions.
We invite domestic and international industry professionals to be jury members. After preliminary judges nominate the first round of nominees, the official jury members will announce the winners and give out awards on the last day of the festival. The jury members and industry professionals from all over the world participate in various events scheduled during the festival and network with the festival participants. In addition, we have the Opening Film category where we world-premiere a film produced by the festival committee, and side bar programs where we screen popular Japanese films and family friendly films. This year, we have a special program featuring VR (virtual reality), a new audio visual medium, and many others, offering the audience various cinematic experiences.

Our Talented Festival Graduates

After screening their films at our festival, many of the festival graduates have gone on to build careers in and out of Japan.  Looking at international cinema, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won Grand Prize with Climates in the 2007 edition of our festival, scored three consecutive wins at Cannes Film Festival for Best Director with Three Monkeys (2008), Grand Prize with Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), and Palme d'Or with Winter Sleep (2014). In addition, after premiering at our festival, Simple Simon, the winner of Special Jury Award in the 2011 edition, and Matterhorn, the winner of Grand Prize in the 2014 edition, were released theatrically in Japan and became box office hits.
Regarding Japanese cinema, Kazuya Shiraishi, who won the SKIP CITY AWARD in the 2009 edition with Lost Paradise in Tokyo, directed the critically acclaimed Twisted Justice (2016). Ryota Nakano, who won the Best Director and SKIP CITY AWARD in the 2012 edition with Capturing Dad, directed Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016), which picked up several domestic awards and won 6 categories at the 40th Japan Academy Film Prize, including Best Actress. Yuichiro Sakashita, who won the Special Jury Award with Kanagawa University of Fine Arts, Office of Film Research in the 2013 edition, made his commercial debut with Any Way the Wind Blows (2016). Many talented festival graduates were able to seize opportunities after screening their films at our festival.
This year, we have a side bar program called “Filmmakers Making Waves” where we bring back previously screened entries directed by six directors that have been under the spotlight in recent years including the aforementioned three Japanese directors. 
We continue to discover and nurture new and yet unknown talent with challenging spirits and expect them to spread their wings around the world.