The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭), also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival.

History

In 1990, the last coal mine in the Hokkaidō mining town of Yūbari having closed, the city leaders were looking for a way to revitalize the local economy. This was the beginning of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. The festival was divided into two main programs, a prestigious international competition for young directors, and an Off Theatre program for mostly Japanese amateur, independent and first-time directors. The first year in 1990 had as a special guest, actor Jon Voight and his daughter, a young starlet named Angelina Jolie. In 1993, Quentin Tarantino was at the festival and wrote part of the screenplay for Pulp Fiction in his hotel room. Some years later, he paid homage to the town in the name of a character in Kill Bill: Volume 1, "Gogo Yubari". In 1996 the festival also had special guest stars, comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. In 2004 the festival drew a record audience of 27,000. The festival had always been sponsored financially by the city of Yubari but the town filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and that year's festival had to be cancelled. However, the people of Yubari with the assistance of a number of sponsors were able to group together to revive the festival in 2008. The international competition section of the festival had to be dropped but the Off Theatre program for young Japanese directors was retained with the Grand Prize bringing 2 million yen (about $20,000) to the winner. The new Governor's Award was presented by the Governor of Hokkaidō. In addition to the competition section, the festival continued to screen a number of international films by promising directors. One of the sponsors for the festival is the giant Japanese satellite broadcasting company SKYPerfecTV! which has also broadcast parts of the program. The scaled down 2008 festival drew more than 8,800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009. The 32nd edition of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival will be held from July 28 to August 1 2022.

Major awards

Award information from:

1990 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1990. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1991 Awards

Held February 15–19, 1991. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1992 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1992. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1993 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1993. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1994 Awards

Held February 18–22, 1994. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1995 Awards

Held February 17–21, 1995. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1996 Awards

Held February 18–20, 1996. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1997 Awards

Held February 14–18, 1997. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1998 Awards

Held February 13–17, 1998. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

1999 Awards

Held February 19–23, 1999. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2000 Awards

Held February 18–22, 2000. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2001 Awards

Held February 15–19, 2001. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2002 Awards

Held February 14–18, 2002. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2003 Awards

Held February 13–17, 2003. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2004 Awards

Held February 19–23, 2004. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2005 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2005. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2006 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2006. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2007 Awards

No awards - festival cancelled.

2008 Awards

Held March 19–23, 2008. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2009 Awards

Held February 26-March 2, 2009. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2010 Awards

Held February 25-March 1, 2010. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2011 Awards

Held February 24–28, 2011. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2012 Awards

Held February 23–27, 2012 with a total attendance at 12,500. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2013 Awards

Held February 21–25, 2013. Attendance was about 12,500. OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2014 Awards

Announced March 2, 2014 OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

2015 Awards

Announced on February 24, 2015 OFF THEATRE COMPETITION

Sources