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 8800 fans and attendance increased to over 10,500 in 2009.
Award information from:
Held February 14–18, 1990.
Grand PrizeOfelas – Director:
Nils GaupSpecial PrizeSpirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds – Director:
Alex ProyasOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeTakeshita Performance Higei Mito-Komon – Director: Sinya Takesita
Special PrizeGig – Director: Kosuke Ienaga
Toroma PrizeMeilin Adventure – Director: Satoshi Imai
Held February 15–19, 1991.
Grand PrizeThe Miracle in Valby (Miraklet i Valby) – Director: Åke Sandgren
Special Jury PrizeWindwalker – Director:
Kieth MerrillCritic's AwardMiller's Crossing – Director: Joel Coen
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeDeath Express – Director: Hiroyuki Terada
Jury PrizeRice Game – Director: Hideaki Kobayashi
Held February 14–18, 1992.
Grand PrizeThe Swordsman in Double Flag Town – Director: He Ping
Special Jury PrizeA Demon in My View – Director: Petra Haffter
Critic's AwardTetsuo II: Body Hammer – Director:
Shinya TsukamotoOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeDiamonds Moon – Director: Akira Nobi
Jury PrizeKappas – Director: Katsuya Ohsawa
Held February 19–23, 1993.
Grand PrizeChildren of Nature – Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
Special Jury PrizeWinds of God – Director: Yoko Narahashi
Critic's AwardReservoir Dogs – Director:
Quentin TarantinoCitizen's AwardNinja Scroll – Director:
Yoshiaki KawajiriOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeTrash – Director: Naoki Kubo
Jury PrizeMy Daddy Long Legs – Director: Shin Yasuhara
Held February 18–22, 1994.
Grand PrizeKilling Zoe – Director:
Roger Roberts AvarySpecial Jury PrizeC'est arrive pres de chez vous – Director:
Rémy Belvaux & André Bonzel
Minami Toshiko Award / Critic's AwardCarne – Director: Gaspar Noé
The Most Entertaining AwardEl Mariachi – Director:
Robert RodriguezOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeFamily Time – Director: Ryota Kawaguchi
Jury PrizeMy Favorite "Skyline" – Director: Shin Yasuhara
Vending Machine and a Girl – Director: Kiyohide Otani
Held February 17–21, 1995.
Grand PrizeTombés du ciel – Director:
Philippe LioretSpecial Jury PrizeThe Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb – Director: Dave Borthwick
Minami Toshiko AwardWizard of Darkness – Director: Shimako Sato
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeThe Incredible Haniwa Man – Director: Shin Yasuhara
Jury PrizeAnatomia Extinction – Director:
Yoshihiro NishimuraA Room Without Wind – Director: Ryuta Miyake
Held February 18–20, 1996.
Grand PrizeAccumulator 1 – Director:
Jan SvěrákSpecial Jury PrizeManneken Pis – Director: Frank Van Passel
Minami Toshiko AwardSecret Waltz – Director: Akira Nobi
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeBrain Holiday – Director: Hineki Mito
Jury PrizeBlood Red Girls – Director:
Daisuke YamanouchiEncouragement PrizeRest Room – Director: Muneyoshi Murakami
To Be or Not to Be – Director:
Tomoko MatsunashiHeld February 14–18, 1997.
Grand PrizeClosing Time – Director:
Masahiro KobayashiSpecial Jury PrizeLittle Sister – Director:
Robert Jan WestdijkMinami Toshiko AwardDrive – Director:
Steve WangOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeParty – Director: Mayumi Uchiumi
Jury PrizeL&D – Director: Hideki Kimura
Held February 13–17, 1998.
Grand PrizeBernie – Director:
Albert DupontelJean-Hugues Anglade AwardDetective Riko – Director: Satoshi Isaka
Adventure Film PrizeThe Ground – Director: Atsushi Muroga
Minami Toshiko AwardIlltown – Director:
Nick GomezOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeMidnight Three – Director: Yasushi Koshizaka
Special Jury PrizeVariation for Movements – Director: Yoshinao Sato
Encouragement PrizeKurushime Girl – Director:
Noboru IguchiHeld February 19–23, 1999.
Grand PrizeBandits – Director:
Katja von GarnierSpecial Jury Prize / Minami Toshiko AwardMoonlight Whispers – Director:
Akihiko ShiotaOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeTel-Club – Director: Kenji Murakami
Special Jury PrizeKiadoryoku REAL – Director:
Katsushi BodaHeld February 18–22, 2000.
Grand PrizeAcross a Gold Prairie – Director: Isshin Inudou
Special Jury PrizePups – Director: Ash
Minami Toshiko AwardJin-Roh – Director:
Hiroyuki OkiuraOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeHazy Life – Director:
Nobuhiro YamashitaSpecial Jury PrizeLet's Go Strawberry Girl – Director: Shinobu Kuribayashi
Held February 15–19, 2001.
Grand PrizeNew Year's Day – Director:
Suri KrishnammaSpecial Jury PrizeAnimals – Director: Michael Di Jiacomo
Minami Toshiko AwardSiam Sunset – Director:
John PolsonOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeTokyo A Go Go – Director: Ryuichi Honda
Special Jury PrizeL'Ilya – Director: Tomoya Sato
Held February 14–18, 2002.
Grand PrizeMy Sassy Girl – Director:
Kwak Jae-yongOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeRun! Yamazaki! Run! – Director: Naoko Johnori
Special Jury PrizeNuts – Director: Yoko Chukira / Tomokazu / Shu Kageyama
Held February 13–17, 2003.
Grand PrizeBattlefield Baseball (Jigoku Koushien) – Director:
Yūdai YamaguchiOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeBijo-can – Director: Masaya Kakei
Special Jury PrizeSki Jumping Pairs – Director: Riichiro Mashima
Held February 19–23, 2004.
Grand PrizeMokpo, Gangster's Paradise – Director:
Kim Ji-hoonSpecial Jury PrizeRobot Stories – Director:
Greg PakMinami Toshiko AwardBetter Than Sex – Director: Su Chao-pin & Lee Feng-bor
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeThe Far East Apartment – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
Special Jury PrizeUtsu-musume SAYURI – Director: Takashi Kimura
Held February 24–28, 2005.
Grand PrizeMy Mother, the Mermaid – Director:
Park Heung-sikSpecial Jury PrizeInnocence – Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
Minami Toshiko AwardThe Neighbor No. Thirteen – Director: Yasuo Inoue
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeMariko's 30 Pirates – Director: Tetsuya Mariko
Special Jury PrizeBe the World for Her – Director: Daisuke Hosaka
Held February 23–27, 2006.
Grand PrizeBlood Rain – Director:
Kim Dae-seungSpecial Jury PrizeNever Belongs to Me – Director: Nam Ki-woong
Minami Toshiko AwardCitizen Dog – Director:
Wisit SasanatiengOFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeRaw Summer (Nama-natsu) – Director: Keisuke Yoshida
Special Jury PrizeHakko – Director: Madoka Kumagai
No awards - festival cancelled.
Held March 19–23, 2008.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeA Woman Who Is Beating the Earth (大地を叩く女, Daichi o tataku onna) – Director: Tsuki Inoue
Special Jury PrizeComing with My Brother (お姉ちゃん、弟といく, One-chan, otōto to iku) – Director: Kouta Yoshida
Governor's AwardSeikilos and I (セイキロスさんとわたしく, Seikilos-san to Watashi) – Director: Kenji Itoso & Hiroshi Kamebuchi
Held February 26-March 2, 2009.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand Prize8000 Miles (SR サイタマノラッパー, SR: Saitama no rappā) – Director: Yū Irie
Special Jury PrizeBig Gun (大拳銃, Dai kenjū) – Director: Ōhata Hajime
Governor's AwardNight Games (夜のゲーム, Yoru no geemu) – Director: Choi Uian (チェ・ウィアン)
Held February 25-March 1, 2010.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeHot as Hell: The Deadbeat March (青春墓場～明日と一緒に歩くのだ～, Seishun Hakaba Ashita to Issho ni Aruku no da) – Director: Yōsuke Okuda
Special Jury PrizeFooted Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno
Governor's AwardWall (壁, Kabe) – Director: ヒョン・スルウ
Cinegar AwardFooted Tadpoles (脚の生えたおたまじゃくし, Ashi no maeta otamajakushi) – Director: Tomoya Maeno
Held February 24–28, 2011.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeInvasion of Alien Bikini (겨울냄새) – Director: Oh Young-Doo
Special Jury PrizePink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa
Governor's AwardViolence PM (バイオレンスPM, Baiorensu PM) – Director: Takayuki Ishihara
Cinegar AwardPink Subaru (ピンク・スバル, Pinku Subaru) – Director: Kazuya Ogawa
Held February 23–27, 2012 with a total attendance at 12,500.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeOsaka Violence (大阪外道, Ōsaka gedō) – Director: Takahiro Ishihara
Special Jury PrizeThe Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki
Governor's AwardThe Beatles (ビートルズ, Bītoruzu) – Director: Yuichiro Sakashita
Cinegar AwardThe Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki
Best ActressNahana for
Toilet and Women (どんずまり便器, Donzumari Benki)Best ActorHiroki Konno for
The Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku)Audience AwardUltraman Saga (ウルトラマンサーガ, Urutoramansāga) - Director: Hideki Oka
Event AwardNamba Kinyu-den Minami no Teio Toichi no Manda Ginjiro - Director: Takaaki Haginiwa
Public AwardPuss in Boots (長ぐつをはいたネコ, Nagagutsu o Haita Neko)Public People AwardThe Brat! (くそガキの告白, Kusogaki no kokuhaku) – Director: Taichi Suzuki
Held February 21–25, 2013. Attendance was about 12,500.
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeThere Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda
Special Jury PrizeA Case of Eggs - Director: Yuri Kanchiku
Governor's AwardWinter Alpaca - Director: Yuji Harada
Cinegar AwardThere Is Light - Director: Yukihiro Toda
Announced March 2, 2014
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeThe Pinkie - Director:
Lisa TakebaSpecial Jury PrizeGun Woman - Director: Mitsutake Kurando
Governor's AwardSchool Girls' Gestation - Director: Ueda Atsushi
Cinegar AwardThe Pinkie - Director:
Lisa TakebaSky Perfect Movie Channel AwardOld Men Never Die - Director: Wang Cheol-min (South Korea)
Announced on February 24, 2015
OFF THEATRE COMPETITION
Grand PrizeMakeup Room - Director:
Kei MorikawaSpecial Jury PrizeThe Limit of Sleeping Beauty - Director: Ninomiya Ken
Governor's AwardHaman - Director: Tetsuya Okabe
Cinegar AwardMizo - Director: Nam Ki Woong (South Korea)
Sky Perfect Movie Channel AwardLuv ya Hun! - Director:
Daigo Matsui
