Blog: Film festivals

About KIFF

The 4th edition of the Karatsu International Film Festival will run from 8th - 13th July, 2025 in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture.

KIFF is organized by THEATER ENYA, a cinema which revived after 22 years in Karatsu City. Guiding the next generation of film people, bridging between filmmakers -Our mission is making a place to meet and discover films around the world, as well as sharing the possibility of the visual culture with people through the film festival in Karatsu.

For the main competition section, the submissions are open to feature films, short films, and documentary films. Some of the winners will be given KIFF’s support through our scholarship programme, creating opportunities overseas/domestic distribution.

During the festival, KIFF offers screenings, lectures, discussions, and workshops around films. We also host welcome events for international filmmakers “The Omotenashi programme” to provide their new experiences of Japanese culture and make some opportunities to meet people.

Location

Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture is a historic castle town surrounded by the beautiful sea in the northwest of the Kyushu region of Japan. A treasure trove of ingredients blessed with nature here, and you can enjoy gastronomy unique to Japan. This city is a place where traditional arts and crafts are still alive, and is known for its local pottery and the annual Karatsu Kunchi festival* which has a history of over 400 years.

*was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.

History of THEATER ENYA

Since we were founded in 2010,THEATER ENYA also has an aspect as a company which is working to breathe new life into our hometown through its cultural heritages.

In 2017, we collaborated with one of Japan’s master film directors Nobuhiko Obayashi to film HANAGATAMI set in Karatsu and won the Grand Prix at the 72nd Mainichi Film Awards. This film was invited to international film festivals in over 20 countries.

In 2019, we finally revived a cinema after 22 years in Karatsu. Thereafter we operate the theater and manage departments of film festival, film commission, and cultural tourism.

Last but not least, THEATER ENYA was selected as “10 of Japanese independent cinemas” by The Japanese Foundation in 2023. Here is our short documentary subtitled in 10 languages to get closer to the festival location, our hometown, and who we are. Please take a look.

THEATER ENYA (Saga, JAPAN) - MINI THEATER JOURNEY【DE/EN/ES/FR/ID/IT/TH/简中/繁中/JP】
https://youtu.be/Yf9aIax9Wyc?si=VFJhj5eD7sShLnId

Regardless of whether the name is known or unknown, whether the budget is large or small, we are looking forward to meeting films you made wholeheartedly!