The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival wrapped up last weekend, with French drama Amanda taking home the Tokyo Grand Prix and Best Screenplay awards. Director Mikhaël Hers' third feature, Amanda tells the story of a young man who cares for his orphaned niece following his sister's death in a delicate tale of familial love and how people cope with tragedy.
Other winners included Michael Noer's Before The Frost which won the Special Jury Prize, as well as Best Actor for Jesper Christensen in his role as the proud patriarch of a poor farming family in 19th-century Denmark. The Best Director gong went to Italian filmmaker Edoardo De Angelis for his work on The Vice Of Hope, set in his home city of Naples. The film blends neorealism with fantasy as it follows the journey of a woman involved in prostitution and human trafficking. Pina Turco, the film's lead, won Best Actress.
Ralph Fiennes directed and starred in The White Crow, a biopic of the late ballet maestro Rudolf Nureyev from his childhood to his defection to the West at the height of the Cold War in 1961. The film won Best Artistic Contribution.
Junji Sakamoto's world premiere of Another World won the Best Audience award. The film deals with family bonds and the struggles of three men from a small town men after one of them returns to the community following a long absence. The topic of PTSD as suffered by war veterans comes into play, as the returning man feels detached from the world around him.
Chinese films dominated the Asian categories with Lina Wang's A First Farewell taking home the Asian Future Best Film gong. An ode to the director's hometown Xinjiang, A First Farewell depicts a boy's relationship with his deaf-mute mother and friendship with a Uighur girl. Another award-winning Chinese title was Wushu Orphan from director Huang Huang, which took home the Spirit of Asia award given by the Japan Foundation Asia Center. Set in China in late 1990s, the film follows a teacher at a martial arts school. Both films had their world premieres at TIFF and were their directors' debut efforts.
In the Japanese Cinema Splash category, which honours Japanese independent cinema, the Best Director award was shared between Masaharu Take for The Gun and Seiji Tanaka for Melancholic. Katsumi Nojiri's Lying To Mom took home Best Film.
A total of 181 films were viewed by over 62,000 cinema-goers at this year's festival. The selection had a mixture of Eastern and Western flavours, with plenty of local titles on show. TIFF 2018 opened with Hollywood megahit A Star Is Born and concluded with the domestic blockbuster Godzilla: The Planet Eater.
This year's festival also had a particular focus on diversity, both in terms of film selection and activities. There were programmes dedicated to short films made by female directors, Israeli cinema, the musical culture of Southeast Asia and more. Its special project TIFF Plus, meanwhile, included a fashion gala, anime music showcase and food travel among its non-film events.
French drama Amanda won Tokyo Grand Prix.
Junji Sakamoto's small town drama Another World won the Audience Award.
