The TOKATSU International Film Festival Committee, the host of the film festival, is a network of civil groups that operate in five cities in the Tokatsu area (Abiko, Kashiwa, Nagareyama, Noda and Matsudo) with objectives to establish film commissions and to host film festivals. The committee consists of: Abiko Cinema Club, Kashiwa Filmmaking Collaborators, Nagareyama Film Networks, MAJI Noda, Matsudo Movie Club, and the Tokatsu Cinema Club.

A "Tokatsu Cinema Night" was held on the 19th of October 2004 and about 1,400 citizens attended. This event was coupled with a preview of the movie "CHARON", which was filmed mostly in the Tokatsu area.
An interview session also amused the audience greatly, in which four mayors of Abiko, Kashiwa, Nagareyama and Shonan answered witty questions from actor Show Aikawa.
Citizen's requests that they wanted film events like this in following years was the driving force behind the "TOKATSU International Film Festival."
In 2005, the "TOKATSU Film Festival 2005" was held, with about 5,000 visitors attending.