Leading Tokyo film critic Chris Fujiwara has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. He will succeed Australian James Mullighan after a troubled year.
"I’m thrilled to be starting work with the Edinburgh International Film Festival. I’m especially enthusiastic because Edinburgh is a festival that has been known in the past for taking the lead during periods when filmmaking and film criticism were going through major transitions," said Fujiwara, who regards this as a critical period in the history of film due to the expansion of the industry to new territories, both geographic and in terms of media. He plans to relocate to Edinburgh at the earliest opportunity so he can begin work.
Fujiwara has written several books about film and has contributed to numerous anthologies. He has served on several international film festival juries and is admired for his ability to attract new audiences. Centre for the Moving Image chair Leslie Hills described him as having an "extraordinary knowledge of, and passion for, film."
