TIFFCOM, Frontières to Serve up New Genre Market Program in October (EXCLUSIVE)

International horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action and animation films will have a new feeding ground this fall.

Frontières, the international genre co-production market, organized by Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, is partnering with the Tokyo International Film Festival Content Market (TIFFCOM) to stage a new genre gap-financing program at the Tokyo Gap Financing Market (TGFM) this October. 

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The announcement lands at the close of Marché du Film, where Japan was this year’s country of honor, and caps a busy session for Frontières Platform, which in recent years has been a key player in whetting the growing appetite for genre film at both the Cannes’ festival and market. 

“Since its inception in 1996, Fantasia has championed Asian cinema, and it feels like a natural evolution to expand our market into Japan,” Fantasia deputy director Tania Morissette told Variety. “We are beyond proud of this new partnership and the opportunity to further shine a spotlight on international genre co-productions.” 

Morissette attended TGFM last year and was impressed by the quality of the projects. Reps from the two events began talking and finalized the partnership this past week at Cannes. 

TGFM alumni films screening this year at Cannes include Jorge Thielen Armand’s “Death Has No Master” (Directors’ Fortnight), Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s “9 Temples to Heaven” (Directors’ Fortnight), and Konstantina Kotzamani’s “Titanic Ocean” (Un Certain Regard). 

“In recent years, Frontières has seen an increase of submissions from Asia,” Morissette said. “Projects like the ‘Funky Forest 2’  and ‘Red Spider Lilies’ were selected for the Montreal market last year, and Norihiro Niwatsukino’s ‘Magai-Gami’ and ‘Queen of Malacca’ were presented at this year’s sold-out  Frontières   at Cannes.

The new Tokyo market program will feature international projects in advanced financing that are seeking a maximum of 40% gap financing. Teams will present their projects in a curated showcase at the TGFM, which supports feature film projects by facilitating one-to-one meetings with industry professionals (producers, financiers, distributors, broadcasters, and streaming platforms) as well as daily panels and conferences throughout the three-day TIFFCOM, held Oct. 28 to 30.

The market is affiliated with the Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs its 39^th edition Oct. 26 to Nov. 4. Submissions for eligible projects opened today (May 22) and close on July 21, 2026. Applicants can submit their project through the Frontières Market website, or through the TGFM platform.

Recent Frontières hits take in “Lamb,” from Valdimar Jóhannson, a 2021 Un Certain Regard prize winner for originality, “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Khan and selected for Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2023 and “A Prayer for the Dying,” Dara Van Dusen’s 2026 Berlinale Perspectives player which drew admiring reviews. 

Another past Frontières title, the upcoming “Hot Spot,” from Agnieszka Smoczynska, is set to premiere at Fantasia’s 30th edition this summer.

The Frontières International Co-Production Market is funded by Telefilm Canada, SODEC, the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal and RDV Canada.