News

April 25, 2022

Thank you to all who made this year’s Damah International Film Festival special.  For two days we were joined by one of our jurors, Kanjiro Sakura, along with many filmmakers, cast & crew, and special guests including Kenji Takama (cinematographer) and Kentaro Akisawa (actor).  Congratulations to our 2022 Award Winners!


U30 Grand Prize “Mila” Cinzia Angelini, director (USA)

U15 Grand Prize “New Year’s Eve” Zeyingtai Steven Lyu (USA)

Audience Award “Our August 2nd Promise” Ami Mochizuki, director (Japan)

Anime Award “Mila” Cinzia Angelini, director (USA)

Takumi Award – Kenji Takama (cinematographer)


The Damah International Film Festival Committee

March 19, 2022

We are honored to have screenwriter Joe Eszterhas join our elite group of Hollywood jurors.  His films including “Flashdance” (1983) and “The Ice Smile” (1992) among many others were big hits in Hollywood and brought him international fame.  In 2006 he produced “Your Tears Flow in Hungary” in his native Hungary.  

We are looking forward to our next Damah, right here in Tokyo on April 23 (Sat) and April 24 (Sun).  Tickets are on sale now. Please join us!

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

November 12, 2021

We are excited to announce the 2022 Damah International Film Festival dates.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Dates:  April 23 (Saturday) & April 24 (Sunday), 2022

Location:  Hibiya Convention Hall (located in the basement of the Hibiya Library & Museum)

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

October 3, 2021

Thank you to our many filmmakers, cast, crew and friends who joined us for a wonderful two days of screening wonderful films.  Congratulations to our winners!

          U30 Grand Prize “Lunch in the Bathroom” Director Maiko Hamasaki (Japan)

          U15 Grand Prize “Faleminderit” Director Nicolas Neuhold (Luxembourg)

          Audience Award “Little Wishes” Director Masato Ozawa (Japan)

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

August 5, 2021

We are excited to announce two new special awards for the 2022 Damah International Film Festival! *These special awards will be selected by the Damah Committee and are still eligible for the grand prizes

Anime Award ¥50,000 (incl. taxes)

Student Award (high school and under) ¥30,000 (incl. taxes)  

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

June 23, 2021

With the lifting of the State of Emergency in Tokyo, we have been able to secure a new venue and are very excited to announce our new festival dates for the 2021 Damah International Film Festival.  Please continue to check this website for updates.

We will continue to plan for the festival keeping in mind COVID protocols and everyone’s safety.  We look forward to meeting many of you in person and wish you a wonderful summer.

Dates:  October 2 (Saturday) & October 3 (Sunday), 2021

Location:  Hibiya Conventional Hall

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

April 23, 2021

We have been excitedly preparing for this May’s “live” festival since June 2020.  However, due to the most recent state of emergency that has been officially declared we have been in discussion with the venue and have decided that it will be necessary to postpone our festival until further notice.  Everyone’s health and safety is of utmost concern to us.  

We do look forward to holding the festival live in the near future.  We will keep you posted on this website.  For tickets that have been purchased already, we will be issuing a full refund this week.  Please contact us for any questions.

We look forward to screening the wonderful selections of films “live” because your story matters!

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

April 17, 2021

For this year’s “live” festival, we will take the following precautions to assist with the spread of the Coronavirus.  We thank you in advance for your cooperation.  Your health and safety is of utmost concern to us.

During each break time, all windows and garage doors will be open to circulate air from the outside.

Guests will be asked to hold conversations outdoors in our deck area which is right next to the lobby instead of the lobby area.

We will only fill the hall with 50% capacity and all seats will be socially distanced.  Guests will be asked to use the same seats all day.

Masks will be worn at all times.  We will request all guests entering the facilities to use disinfectant along with performing body temperature checks.

We will not be able to serve food and drinks.

Please refrain from attending if you are not feeling well, have a temperature over 37.5c, or if you have been exposed directly to an individual that is sick from the Coronavirus.

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

February 25, 2021

We are pleased to announce that submissions are closed and we have received more than double the entries (from 35 countries) from our previous festival.  Jury and official selections will be completed soon and plans for our upcoming festival have begun.  We look forward to the opportunity to screen films that represent who we are, stories that inspire and touch the heart.

We continue to monitor the COVID situation and hope to be able to hold a live film festival following all COVID protocols.   We will continue to keep you informed.  

Festival Dates:  May 7 & May 8th, 2021

Location:  Minami Otsuka Hall, Tokyo

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

June 1, 2020

Many people have been affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic around the world.  We would like to express our sympathies to those who have lost loved ones or have been struggling with this terrible virus themselves.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many health care workers and support staff who have served tirelessly to care for and protect us all.  

It has also been a challenging time for many in the film industry who have lost jobs due to cancellations or closures of theaters and/or film production and festivals.  

We sincerely wish you all the best and pray for your protection during these challenging times.  We pray for a quick recovery for all and we look forward to seeing stories that will inspire and encourage many, because your story matters!

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

July 9, 2019

The Damah International Film Festival Committee is excited to announce the next Damah International Film Festival in 2021!  We received many kind words and support at the very first Damah International Film Festival this past May in Tokyo.  We look forward to making new connections and growing our network globally as we prepare for the next festival.  We have begun to plan for pre-events during the next year so please plan on joining us then.

Thank you for your continued interest and stay tuned because your story matters!

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

May 11, 2019

The 2019 Damah International Film Festival was held this year in Tokyo, Japan on May 10 & May 11.  Twenty films were screened by an audience of independent filmmakers, actors, sponsors and film lovers at the Kitazawa Town Hall which was located in a trendy neighborhood town often referred to as “Shimokita.”

Ian Ebright, director of “From the Sky” who was visually surprised to receive the grand prize award for the “Under 30” category had flown in from Seattle to be part of the festival.  The “Under 15” prize winner, Director Ramesh Jai for “The Life!” from Ghana was not able to be present.  The special “Audience Favorite” went to Director Atsushi Nagao for “Memories Rewound.”

The eleven finalists were honored at the closing party with guests that included Juror Kanjiro Sakura, Jury President and Co-Founder of Damah, Mark Joseph, among sponsors, festival volunteers and the filmmakers.

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

April 25, 2019

We were excited about Barry Cook’s participation with this year’s Damah Festival but due to a family emergency, he will not be able to travel to Japan at this time.  Our prayers are with Barry Cook and his family.  We hope to welcome Barry to Japan another time.

The Damah International Film Festival Committee

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