Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips will open the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film, which stars Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, will open the 26th edition of the festival in Japan’s capital on October 17. The film is based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked by Somali pirates, eventually turning into a tense standoff between the captors and the U.S. navy on the high seas.
Captain Phillips will have its World Premiere as the Opening Night Gala at the New York Film Festival on September 27, marking Greengrass’ return to the event after debuting Bloody Sunday at the 40th NYFF in 2002. His latest film will have its European Premiere at the 57th BFI London Film Festival on October 9.
“These were very dramatic events in a fight against the clock featuring a very ordinary person who never thought he’d be in the spotlight,” Paul Greengrass told FilmLinc in an interview about the film. “That’s what it’s really about. It’s meant to capture the mounting tension and excitement of how he’s going to be freed. It’s about how they’re going to deal with these four desperadoes.”
Tokyo organizers also said that Japanese director Koki Mitani’s The Kiyosu Conference will close out the festival on October 25. The historical drama will be the first time a Japanese film has closed the festival in seven years.
