The 18th Tokyo International Film Festival kicks off today and runs until October 30. As last year, films will be shown at two main venues in the city: the Bunkamura arts complex in Shibuya and the trendy Roppongi Hills. And this year, the festival has a particularly distinct Asian flavor. The opening film is “Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles,” the latest from celebrated Chinese director Zhang Yimou, while “Rikidozan” – a joint Japanese-South Korean biopic of the famous pro wrestler of Korean descent who was Japan’s first real TV icon – will be the festival’s closing screening. “Riding Alone…” stars veteran Takakura Ken, as a man who goes to China to meet his estranged and dying son. Director Zhang is head of this year’s jury, which will have to choose from a selection of 15 films in the competition category. In addition to the above and a selection of Japanese films, there are 12 from Southeast Asia, up from seven last year. Among the high-profile guests this year are Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, who will hold a discussion event with Japan’s animation master Miyazaki Hayao, and Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones. The Hollywood blockbuster’s getting their first exposure in Japan include Terry Gilliam’s “The Brothers Grimm,” starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger; “Proof,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins; Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line” with Joaquin Phoenix; and Roman Polanski’s version of “Oliver Twist.”