Kyoto International Student Film & Video Festival

Business overview
Event Overview
Event Program
Special site
Executive Committee
inquiry

Business overview

　The Kyoto International Student Film Festival is Japan’s largest international student film festival, planned and run primarily by university students in the Kansai region, centered around Kyoto. It brings together independent student-produced films from around the world with the goal of discovering the talent and resources that will shape the future of film.
　Historically, Kyoto is a “city of film,” continuing to preserve the cultural heritage of the early days of Japanese cinema. With students making up 10% of Kyoto City’s population, it is also a “city of universities and students.” By uncovering and showcasing talent that can add new dimensions to film from among the many potential works from around the world, the festival aims to create a forum for international exchange and mutual understanding and revitalize Kyoto.

Event Overview

28th Kyoto International Student Film Festival

schedule:: February 20, 2026 (Friday) – February 23, 2026 (Monday/Holiday)
venue:: Kyoto Museum of Art Film Theater
Organizer:: Kyoto University Consortium, a public interest incorporated foundation
Co-organized by:: Kyoto Museum of Art
Planning and management:: 28th Kyoto International Student Film Festival Executive Committee
Operational support:: Kyoto International Student Film Festival Planning Committee
Supported by:: Japan Arts Council / NISSHA Foundation
Sponsored by:: Kyoto Prefecture / Kyoto City / Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education / Kyoto City Board of Education / The Japan
Foundation / Visual Industry Promotion Organization / Directors Guild of Japan / Asahi Shimbun Kyoto Bureau
UniJapan Foundation / The Kyoto Shimbun / NHK Kyoto Broadcasting Station / KBS Kyoto
FM Kyoto / Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan
(J:COM Kyoto Miyabijon) / Cineaste Organization Osaka
Sponsor:: Torikizoku / Eternal Hospitality Group Co., Ltd. / Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Film and New Media / Directors Univ. Co., Ltd. / Kitade Kinsaku Shoten Co., Ltd. / Genki Office Co., Ltd. / Tachibana Co., Ltd. / TYO Co., Ltd. / Kanpaku Co., Ltd. / Natalie Movies / Entertainment information media U-WATCH / Kyoto Prefectural Consumers’ Co-operative Union / Faith Co., Ltd. / HTP FILM / Leaf KYOTO

Event Program

Timetable

Ticket Information

	Program ticket for selected works	Final Jury Special Project	All-day pass (exchange ticket)
general	1,000 yen (advance ticket 800 yen)	1,000 yen (advance ticket 800 yen)	4,000 yen (advance ticket 3,000 yen)
student	500 yen (advance ticket 300 yen)	500 yen (advance ticket 300 yen)	2,000 yen (advance ticket 1,500 yen)
high school students	500 yen (advance ticket 300 yen)	500 yen (advance ticket 300 yen)	1,000 yen (advance ticket 800 yen)
Junior high school students and younger	free	free	free

[About same-day tickets]

Same-day tickets will be sold at the reception on the day.
Payment for same-day tickets can be made in cash or via PayPay. (Other cashless payment methods are not accepted.)
If you would like to secure a seat in advance, please purchase an advance ticket. (All seats are unreserved, so seats cannot be reserved.)

[About advance tickets]

Advance tickets will be sold through LivePocket-Ticket-. The ticket purchase page will be posted at https://www.kisfvf.com/info/ at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 .
Sales period: Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 10:00 AM to Thursday, February 19, 2026
Advance tickets must be paid for online in advance. A separate fee may apply depending on the payment method. Please check the details of the fee on the purchase screen.
One advance ticket (electronic ticket) purchased through LivePocket-Ticket- is required per visitor. Please present the QR code on the electronic ticket at the reception on the day of the event to receive your paper ticket.
Admission will be in the order of ticket numbers.
Doors open 15 minutes before the start of the screening. Please arrive 15 minutes before the screening. After the doors open, admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Those who purchase advance tickets are guaranteed entry, but please arrive well in advance as all seating is unreserved.

【others】

If you are a student, please present your student ID.
Members of the Kyoto Museum of Culture Friendship Association, as well as those who hold a physical disability certificate, a rehabilitation certificate, a mental health and welfare certificate, an atomic bomb survivor certificate, or a war-wounded/sick certificate, can view the selected works free of charge. Please present your membership card or any of the certificates at the reception desk when viewing. Those eligible for the free viewing above can view the Final Judges’ Project and Special Exhibitions for a flat fee of 500 yen (same-day tickets). Advance applications for the Final Judges’ Project and Special Exhibitions are available (advance tickets: 300 yen). In this case, a separate fee will be charged depending on the payment method.
One caregiver per disabled person will be admitted free of charge.
By presenting your ticket stub on the day, you can view the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Kyoto.
Please note that tickets cannot be canceled, changed, or refunded for customer convenience after purchase. However, if there are any circumstances arising from the organizer (Kyoto International Student Film Festival) (e.g., cancellation of a guest appearance or screening), we will respond individually.
For ticket inquiries, please contact the 28th Kyoto International Student Film Festival Office (075-353-9189, Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00-17:00).

Competition winning works (16 works in total)

[Program A]


“Ru Guo Dang Shi” / WHAT IF Wang Ziyu 19 minutes / 2024 / China	“Miaojing” / MIMI Yang, Miaojing 25 minutes / 2025 / China

“Au Calme Des Cigales” / The Calm of the Cicadas Sarah Deredec / Camille Collins / Clémence Ansquer / Juliette Le Hir / Chun-i Cheng / Ambre Muamba / Salomé Leroy / Deredec, Sarah / Collins, Camille / Ansquer, Clémence / Le Hir, Juliette / Cheng, Chun-i / Muamba, Ambre / Leroy, Salomé 5 minutes / 2024 / France	“Comedian Who Can’t Laugh” /chuckle chuckle Nishida, Yuka 75 minutes / 2025 / Japan

[Program B]


“Kuna-manobu” / Sato, Yuki / 20 minutes / 2025 / Japan	“Fuck the Cistem” Tajo Hurrle / Hurrle, Tajo 24 minutes / 2025 / Germany

“Welcome Home Freckles” Park, Huiju 26 minutes / 2025 / UK/Korea	“Paradox” Yoshizawa Taiyo / Yoshizawa, Taiyo / 30 minutes / 2025 / Japan

[Program C]


“Time Lapse” / Time Lapse Chen, Unity 13 minutes / 2025 / China	“White Book” / Unanswered Yerken Nazlik / Like 30 minutes / 2025 / China

『보다 보다』 / Looky-Loo 정 지원 / Jung, Jiwon 18 minutes / 2025 / South Korea	“Like a Flower Blooming Today / The Bloom Beyond Time ” Inaba, Taiki / 49 minutes / 2025 / Japan

[Program D]


“Death” / IN THE MIST 刘人铭 / Liu, Renming 5 minutes / 2024 / China	『모범상』 / The Good Student 호범 / Park, Hobeom 16 minutes / 2024 / South Korea

“Landflucht” / Fleeing from the Farm Anna Dokuchaeva / Sine Juhl / Dokuchaeva, Anna / Juhl, Sine 5 minutes / 2024 / Germany	“Imaginary Line” Sakamoto, Kensho / 91 minutes / 2024 / Japan

Special program

Director Junichi Yasuda’s film screening + talk show (screening on 2/20)

“Gohan”

118 minutes / 2017 / Japan

Guest: Junichi Yasuda (film director)

Final Jury Project

Director Tomohisa Taguchi Screening Project (Screening February 21st)

Guest: Director Tomohisa Taguchi

Film: “Tunnel to Summer, Exit to Goodbye”

2022 / 83 minutes / Japan

“Director Takebayashi Ryo Screening Project” (Screening on 2/22)

Guest: Director Ryo Takebayashi

Film: “The Big House”

123 minutes / 2024 / Japan

“Director Yoko Yamanaka Screening Project” (Screening on 2/23)

Guest: Director Yoko Yamanaka

Film: “Amico”

66 minutes / 2017 / Japan

Final Jury


Tomohisa Taguchi (animation director) Born in 1985 in Okayama Prefecture, he is an animation director. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts at Osaka Seikei University, he worked as a production assistant at Anime International Company. In 2014, he made his directorial debut with “Persona 3 the Movie #2: Midsummer Knight’s Dream.” His film “Tunnel into Summer, Exit to Goodbye,” released in 2022, was released not only in Japan but also overseas. The film won a special award at the Bucheon International Animation Film Festival in South Korea and the Paul Grimaud Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, the world’s largest animation film festival. His major directorial works include “BLEACH: The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc,” “Kino’s Journey -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series,” and “Akudama Drive.”	Ryo Takebayashi (Film Director) He began his career as a commercial director, then worked on JICA’s international cooperation video project and various documentary programs, while also working on a wide range of projects including music videos, remote theater, and films. His youth reality film “14-Year-Old Shiori,” released in March 2021, started in one theater but gained popularity on social media, expanding its run to 45 cities. His feature film “MONDAYS: This Time Loop Won’t End Until My Boss Notices It” (released in 2022), which he directed and co-wrote, won the New Director and Editing Awards at the 32nd Japan Film Critics Awards. The film has received international acclaim, including being nominated for the New Visions category at the Sitges Catalonia International Film Festival and winning the Grand Prix at the Vevey Funny International Film Festival. His film “The Big House” won the Documentary Award at the 34th Japan Film Critics Awards.

Yoko Yamanaka (film director) Born in 1997 in Nagano Prefecture, she is a film director. After dropping out of the Film Department at Nihon University College of Art, she gathered friends through social media and produced her first directorial work, “Amico,” which won the Audience Award at the PFF Awards 2017. The following year, she became the youngest director ever to be invited to the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, where the film was screened. She received high praise both at home and abroad, including in Hong Kong, Canada, and New York. In 2024, her first full-length feature film, “The Namibian Desert,” won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 77th Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section, making her the youngest female director ever to receive the award. Her directorial work includes “Kaitenko and Dream Mom,” a segment in the anthology film “21st Century Girls” produced by Yuki Yamato, the original screenplay and direction for the TV drama “Goodnight, See You Again on the Shore” (2019), and the ndjc program “Pisces” (2020).

Submission results

Year of event	Domestic	abroad	total
FY2025	192 works	633 works	825 works
FY2024	134 works	377 works	511 works
2023	134 works	300 works	434 works
2022	160 works	221 works	381 works
2021	172 works	143 works	315 works
2020	100 works	272 works	372 works
2019	101 works	176 works	277 works
2018	98 works	490 works	588 works
2017	129 works	356 works	485 works
2016	168 works	371 works	539 works
2015	123 works	94 works	217 works

Special site


@kisfvf	official website

Executive Committee

The Kyoto International Film and Art Festival is looking for students to help make the festival a success.
You can learn the know-how of running a film festival through a series of activities, from accepting submissions to judging, public relations activities, and sponsorship requests.
Please feel free to contact us.

Location of activities	Campus Plaza Kyoto (6th floor office, 5th floor joint research lab, online)
Activity frequency	Meetings approximately once a week (including online meetings), general meetings approximately once a month (in person), planning committee meetings approximately five times a year, and training sessions approximately three times a year
Participating universities	Kyoto University, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto Women’s University, Kyoto University of Informatics, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Saga University of Arts, Doshisha University, Doshisha Women’s University, Bukkyo University, Ritsumeikan University, Ryutani University, Osaka University, Kobe University, Akita International University, etc.
Organizer	Kyoto University Consortium, a public interest incorporated foundation

inquiry

Kyoto International Student Film Festival
Address: Campus Plaza Kyoto, Nishinotoin-dori Shiokoji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8216
TEL: 075-353-9189 (Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-17:00) FAX: 075-353-9101
E-MAIL: info-kisfvf-ml■consortium.or.jp (Please change ■ to @ when sending)
Website: https://www.kisfvf.com/