Rolf de Heer, the Australian director of Bad Boy Bubby and Ten Canoes, was named president of the competition jury at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, the Variety report on the event said — and he told journalists the FIAPF A-list change “matters a great deal to some people, and not at all to others.”
According to Variety, de Heer will lead the Tokyo competition jury for the festival, and he spoke publicly about the International Federation of Film Producers Associations’ decision to formalize A-list festival status, which placed Tokyo among 17 festivals on the list.
De Heer told the jury press that making A-list status official is unlikely to change much about Tokyo itself, and he described how the designation “matters a great deal to some people, and not at all to others,” a line highlighted in the Variety coverage.
The appointment and de Heer’s comments come as the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival continues to position itself on the global festival circuit; Variety noted the FIAPF move but cited de Heer’s pragmatic perspective on what that will mean for filmmakers and programmers who attend.
For readers tracking TIFF coverage and festival politics, de Heer’s role connects to broader conversation about how international accreditation affects programming and sales. The Variety piece frames his remarks as both skeptical and matter-of-fact about institutional labels.
This story ties into other recent TIFF reporting on the festival’s lineup and guest appearances; for context on the atmosphere around TIFF this year, see the site’s coverage of festival memories and reviews such as Seth Rogen at TIFF recalls Judd Apatow’s advice and the local reception to director-driven work like “Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo” review.
Sources
- Variety — reported de Heer’s appointment as competition jury president at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival and published his quote about FIAPF’s A-list change, and noted Tokyo was named among 17 A-list festivals.
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Hello, I’m Beckett. I cover series and show news for you to make your evenings more captivating.