{"id":1178,"date":"2025-09-07T23:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T23:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/1178\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T23:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T23:02:08","slug":"everest-pioneer-tabei-junko-biopic-to-open-tokyo-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/1178\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest Pioneer Tabei Junko Biopic to Open Tokyo Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe 38th Tokyo International Film Festival<\/a> has tapped \u201cClimbing for Life<\/a>,\u201d Sakamoto Junji\u2019s biographical drama about legendary mountaineer Tabei Junko<\/a>, as its opening night selection.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film chronicles the true story of Tabei, who made history in 1975 as the first woman to summit Mount Everest. Beloved Japanese actor Yoshinaga Sayuri takes on the lead role, marking her first collaboration with Sakamoto in 13 years since \u201cA Chorus of Angels\u201d (2012).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cClimbing for Life\u201d represents the 31st feature from award-winning helmer Sakamoto, whose filmography includes \u201cKT\u201d (2002), \u201cZatoichi the Last\u201d (2010), \u201cAnother World\u201d (2019), and \u201cOkiku and the World\u201d (2023). The project marks the 50th anniversary of Tabei\u2019s historic Everest ascent, with Sakamoto crafting what festival organizers describe as \u201ca depiction that highlights human resilience and tolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe ensemble cast also features Sato Koichi, Amami Yuki, and Non. Sakaguchi Riko penned the screenplay, with music by Yasukawa Goro. The film is based on Tabei\u2019s memoir \u201cMy Mountain Life \u2013 Up and Down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond her Everest triumph, the biopic explores how Tabei\u2019s achievement \u201ccast a radiant light but also a deep shadow on her friends and family,\u201d according to festival materials. The narrative follows her later years as she continued mountaineering despite being diagnosed with a terminal illness.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt is a true honor for our film to be selected as the opening film of the 38th TIFF,\u201d Sakamoto said in a statement. \u201cAlthough the production process of filmmaking has been dramatically altered in the digital era, the joy of sharing a film with audiences on the big screen and masterful sound design remains timeless. This film also stands as a testament to the enduring talent of Yoshinaga Sayuri, a national treasure who has graced the pinnacle of stardom for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTIFF programming director Ichiyama Shozo added: \u201cWith a remarkable lead performance by Yoshinaga Sayuri and meticulous direction by director Sakamoto Junji, this film earns a place as one of the year\u2019s most touching films. I am confident that its universal themes will deeply move audiences across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKino Films Co., Ltd. will distribute the film in Japan, with a theatrical release set for Oct. 31.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival runs Oct. 27-Nov. 5 across Tokyo\u2019s central entertainment district, with the industry market TIFFCOM scheduled for Oct. 29-31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival has tapped \u201cClimbing for Life,\u201d Sakamoto Junji\u2019s biographical drama about legendary mountaineer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1774,146,85,46,1775,1776],"class_list":{"0":"post-1178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-climbing-for-life","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-tabei-junko","13":"tag-tokyo-international-film-festival"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}