The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that it will host the international premiere of Takahide Hori’s stop-motion anime film, Junk World, as part of its Midnight Madness section. The film, a prequel to Hori’s 2017 critically acclaimed Junk Head, debuted in Japanese theaters on June 13, 2025.
Midnight Madness Selection for Junk World
Junk World will be featured in TIFF’s Midnight Madness program, a segment known for its eclectic and often boundary-pushing genre films. Screenings for this section take place nightly at 11:59 PM at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The 50th edition of TIFF is scheduled to run from September 4 to September 14, 2025. The full festival schedule, including specific showtimes for Junk World, will be released on August 12.
Delving into the Junk World Narrative
Set 1,042 years before the events of Junk Head, Junk World expands on the dystopian universe created by Hori. The story follows a joint expedition between humans and their emancipated clones, known as Mulligans. This uneasy truce is shattered by a surprise attack, leading to a “dimension-hopping, time-travel fable.” The plot centers on a human team led by Captain Tris and a Mulligan team led by Dante, investigating strange occurrences in the underground city of Karpbar, which was thought to be a ghost town. A key character from Junk Head, a robot named Robin (who appeared as Parton in the first film), also features in this prequel.
Takahide Hori: A Singular Visionary
Takahide Hori is the driving force behind Junk World, much like he was for Junk Head. He is credited with the original story, directing, screenwriting, character design, editing, cinematography, and even composing the score. Beyond these roles, Hori also handled the modeling, animation, sound effects, visual effects (VFX), and voice acting for the film, making it an almost entirely solo endeavor for much of its production. Junk World took approximately three years to produce, following Junk Head‘s seven-year production timeline.
Hori’s unique stop-motion animation style has garnered significant attention, with Junk Head being a hit in Japan, grossing over 140 million yen (approximately $948,000 USD) and earning numerous film awards. The original Junk Head short film, Junk Head 1, won Best Animation at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2013, and the feature film received a Special Mention at the Fantasia Film Festival and a best director honor at Fantastic Festival. Hori also incorporated modern techniques like CG and 3D printers into the production of Junk World to enhance efficiency and quality, allowing for duplication of characters and simultaneous scene shooting.
Hori has expressed his intent for the “funny parts to surpass the parts that are grotesque or tough to watch” in Junk World. He is also reportedly working on a third film in the series, tentatively titled Junk End, which will be set about 50 years after Junk Head.
