Source: Peatix

Shibuya Gender Film Festival Opening Screening
"WE EXIST"

■ Story
"Our Place" is a documentary series about LGBTQIA+ people living in Japan. The first episode, "Be Yourself," begins in Tokyo and travels to Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Along the way, host Tiffany Rossdale interviews activists, professors, cabaret hostesses, Shikoku's first transgender city council member, bar owners and their patrons, and even people on the street. As she travels across Japan, she listens to the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community and imagines a place where we can all coexist.

Produced in 2024 / 35 minutes / Japan
Director: Felicity Tillack

■ Date and Time
11/14(Fri)
17:30 Doors open
18:00-18:25 Shibuya Gender Equality Promotion Awards and Film Festival Opening
18:30-19:05 Film screening
19:15-19:30 Pride Choir Tokyo performance
19:35-20:35 Talk session

Shibuya Gender Equality Promotion Awards Ceremony
The Shibuya Gender Equality Promotion Awards ceremony will be held. Shibuya Ward is home to many wonderful initiatives promoting gender equality, including those undertaken by individuals and businesses. At the Shibuya Gender Film Festival, we will be showcasing some of the initiatives we feel are particularly worth sharing with you from the many submissions.

Shibuya Gender Equality Promotion Award

■ Venue
Shibuya Ward Densho Hall (Shibuya Ward Cultural Center Owada 6F)
23-21 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo [Google MAP] Please note that the venue is different from other dates.

■Talk Session
"10 years since Shibuya Ward started partner certification"

Ken Hasebe
Shibuya mayor

Born in Jingumae, Shibuya Ward in 1972.
After leaving Hakuhodo Inc., he founded the NPO Green Bird, which tackles littering issues. Starting in Harajuku and Omotesando, he has carried out promotional activities against littering in over 60 locations across the country.
He was first elected to the Shibuya Ward Assembly in 2003 and served for three terms, a total of 12 years.
In 2015, he ran as an independent candidate in the Shibuya ward mayoral election and was elected. He is currently serving his third term.

Maki Muraki

Chairman of the board of certified NPO Rainbow Diversity. Certified social insurance labor consultant.
Graduated from the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University. After working for a major Japanese manufacturing company and a foreign consulting firm, he is currently in his current position. Utilizing his personal experiences as an LGBTQ person and his experience as a consultant, he conducts research and social education activities related to LGBTQ. In 2022, he will open the "Pride Center Osaka."
She was awarded the Nikkei WOMAN "Woman of the Year 2016 Changemaker Award," the IGLTA (International LGBTQ+ Travel Association) "Pathfinder Award" in 2024, and was selected as one of Forbes JAPAN's "50 Women Over 50 Shaping the Future" in 2025. She is the author of "Rainbow Changemakers: Transforming the Workplace and Society with an LGBTQ Perspective."

Nishimura Kodo

Born in Tokyo in 1989. After graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York, she worked as a makeup artist based in the United States. In 2015, she became a Jodo Buddhist priest. As an LGBTQ activist, she spreads the message that "everyone is equal regardless of gender or race," and has given lectures at the United Nations Population Fund headquarters in New York, Harvard University, Zojoji Temple, and other venues. In 2022, she served as a judge on the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen. Her book, "It's Okay to Live as the Me I Love," has been translated into eight languages.

[Navigator] Ryutaro Nagata

After working extensively in marketing roles at Tokyu Agency Co., Ltd., Louis Vuitton Japan Co., Ltd., and Gap Japan Co., Ltd., she is currently working to promote gender equality, including sexual minorities, at Shibuya Ward Office. Currently, she is a director at Dahlia Co., Ltd., and has also founded NOMB LLC, where she provides support to government agencies and companies in their marketing and DE&I promotion efforts.

What is the Shibuya Gender Film Festival?
This tiny film festival began in Shibuya Ward in 2022. Using a gender perspective, the festival uses films to consider social issues and human rights problems that occur in our everyday lives. After the film, there is time for dialogue. In the safe atmosphere of a small festival, participants share their thoughts and impressions, further deepening their understanding of the world of film. This is a film festival where you can meet friends who are also aiming to take that first step towards turning other people's problems into your own.

Theme for 2025:
SHIBUYA PRIDE
-A city where everyone can be themselves, now and in the future-

On November 5th, 2015, Shibuya Ward was the first in the country to launch a partnership certification system. This system was born out of the desire of people who refuse to give up on living in society with their loved ones, and Shibuya Ward's determination to create a city where diverse people can mingle and cherish their individuality. The partnership certification system has spread across the country as a way to support the "normal life" of LGBTQ people, and currently 532 municipalities have enacted similar systems, with 87 couples using the system in Shibuya Ward and 9,837 couples nationwide (as of the end of May 2025).

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the system's launch. During this time, awareness and understanding of LGBTQ people have increased, and many positive changes have taken place in society, but at the same time, intense backlash has also arisen around the world. In this milestone year, this film festival will not only celebrate the 10th anniversary, but also consider what Shibuya Ward, and all of us who gather in Shibuya, can do to ensure that Shibuya is a city we can be proud of as a place where everyone can be themselves, for the next 10 years and into the future.

■ Handling of personal information
1. Personal information will be appropriately acquired, used, and provided only to the extent necessary for the business activities of this event. This event has the principle of not handling personal information beyond the scope necessary to achieve the purpose of use without the prior consent of the individual, and will take measures to ensure this.
2. We will comply with laws, regulations, national guidelines and other standards regarding the protection of personal information.
3. We will take reasonable measures to prevent the leakage, loss, or damage of personal information in our possession, and will take any necessary corrective measures.
4. We will set up a consultation desk to handle complaints and inquiries regarding the handling of personal information and efforts to protect personal information.
5. We will continually review and improve our efforts to comply with the Personal Information Protection Act.
6. Contact Us

For inquiries regarding this event, please contact the following:
Shibuya Inclusive City Center <Iris>
Shibuya Cultural Center Owada 8F, 23-21 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
TEL：03-3464-3395　FAX：03-3464-3398

Organizer: Shibuya Ward

Venue