娱乐英语新闻:Japanese director Kumakiri's latest film to debut at annual Tokyo film festival

TOKYO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Japanese film director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri's latest work, "Sketches of Kaitan City," will make its world premiere at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) .

The film is based on Yasushi Sato's unfinished novel "Kaitanshi Jokei," or "Sea Coal City Scenery," which was published after Sato committed suicide in 1990.

Kumakiri said at a press conference on Thursday that the film was an effort to vividly present the way people lived in the seaport town of Hakodate, Hokkaido and their hardships.

Kumakiri, born in 1974, is known for his works including " Antenna" in 2003 and "Non-Ko" in 2008.

The festival will run from October 23 to 31 at Roppongi Hills and other venues in Tokyo

A film about the founders of the world's biggest social- networking website, "Facebook," has been selected as the opening film for the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).

The festival will be concluded by "The Town," the second directorial feature by Ben Affleck.

A total of 15 films, including "And Peace on Earth," an Italian film jointly directed by Matteo Botrugno and Daniele Coluccini, and "The Piano in a Factory" by Chinese director Zhang Meng, are set to compete for the festival's Competition section.

The highlights of the festival this year include the screening of an array of selected movies starring legendary Kung Fu movie icon Bruce Lee and the works by a new generation of directors in Taiwan.