TikTok and Toho team up for the TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021 – entries now open

The short movie application TikTok and movie theatre company Toho Co Ltd have announced a new film festival – TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021 – as a means to discover new creators and to give the film industry a boost, and entries are now open.

The TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021 is a collaboration between TikTok and Toho with an aim to discover and nurture creators with great potential. Additionally, as part of the event, Adobe Co Ltd, will cooperate with the festival and will provide all participants with access to Adobe Stock materials and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Actor Takumi Kitamura is the film festival’s official ambassador, whilst filmmaker Takashi Miike, videographer Tomokazu Yamada and TikTok Creator Shinnosuke will take on the roles of the judges.

Creating filmography and watching high-quality video has never been easier than it is today, with the widespread use of smartphones and content-sharing applications amongst individuals.

‘Vertical video’ is a newer type of media that is quickly gaining popularity through the help of SNS applications like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. It still has room for development and has the potential to create and expand a new world of visuals.

The aim of the TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021 is to discover new talents from all over the world by utilizing a platform that anyone can participate in.

The festival is open to everyone with a smartphone, with winners receiving support for the production rights to new videos produced by Toho, as well as production subsidies. To apply, simply post your video on TikTok with the hashtag #TT映画祭2021.

From left to right: Film Festival Ambassador Takumi Kitamura, Film Festival judges Takashi Miike and Shinnosuke

TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021

Applicants: Anyone over 13 years old. Both Individuals and Groups can apply

Application period: Until May 31, 23:59

Application method: Post the video to TikTok with the hashtag #TT映画祭2021 (multiple submissions are accepted)

Recommended vertical video size: 9:16 (those that are set to be published on TikTok)

*Videos should be within 15 seconds to 10 minutes

*When videos are over 1 minute please upload them separately and describe the videos like ‘Project Name / Video No.’ so that the number of videos can be understood.

Prize Divisions

Grand Prix Prize: To be determined by the judges

Audience Award: Will be determined by the number of views and likes on the video post

Available Prizes (1 available for each division)

Grand Prix Winners:

300,000 yen prize money, plus the rights to create a new video produced by Toho that will be supported by the assistance of their production companies. Winners will receive support for expenses taken during video production.

The video is assumed to be orientated vertically and to be about 5 minutes in length. The current production period is scheduled to take place in Tokyo sometime from July – August 2021. Filming is planned to take one day, but winners will be expected to attend pre-production meetings and post-production editing. The final piece will be released on TikTok.

Audience Award

200,000 yen prize money.

10 finalist runners up will also be offered a 12 month complete plan of Adobe’s Creative Cloud for free.

The Award Ceremony for the TikTok TOHO Film Festival 2021 is scheduled to be held in Tokyo from late June to mid-July 2021 and will be live streamed on TikTok LIVE. The final results will be announced and the prizes will be presented at the award ceremony venue.