15th Tokyo International Film FestivalOctober26-November4,2002

The opening ceremonies for the 15th commemorative anniversary of TIFF featured fleeting shadows of past cinema masterpieces flickering to the theme song from "New Cinema Paradiso". A mini concert was given by composer Joe Hisaishi and the New Japan Philharmonic. Special guests at TIFF included Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise. In view of recent world developments, TIFF screened "War and Peace" in its commitment to furthering world peace. One of the longest films ever made, this film was 8 hours 27 minutes long at its Moscow premiere and 6hours 13 minutes when first shown in Japan. The version screened at this time was a special director's cut version lasting 7 hours 10 minutes.

The Cinema Prism program was renamed "Winds of Asia" and was reconstituted to feature films made in Asia.

For "Nippon Cinema Classics", films were selected that featured songs that became beloved among the Japanese people. Traditional enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa was invited as a guest to the opening of this program and sang "Aishuu ressha" and other songs from a bygone era.