32nd Tokyo International Film Festival – Awards 2019

By Asian Film Festival on November 5, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We present the list of winners of the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival which took place from October 28th until November 5th, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo Grand Prix (The Governor of Tokyo Award)

Uncle by Frelle Petersen – Denmark | 2019 – 106 minutes

A girl cares for her elderly, disabled uncle. The days pass uneventfully as the two tend to the livestock, but the girl dreams of becoming a veterinarian. This love story, centering on the heroine’s heartbreaking choice, combines humor with beautiful imagery.

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Special Jury Prize

Atlantis by Valentyn Vasynavych – Ukraine | 2019 – 108 minutes

It is 2025 and a war has just ended. A traumatized veteran is forced to confront his past when he meets a woman involved in recovering unidentified bodies. Capturing the desolation with hard beauty, this dystopian film abounds with wondrous shots and scenes.

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Award for Best Director

Saeed Roustaee for Just 6.5 – Iran | 2019 – 134 minutes

This riveting film centers on a showdown between the Iranian police and a drug gang. Taking aggressive measures, the chief detective moves ever closer to the boss. The investigative process, junkies’ hangouts, and jail conditions are all powerfully rendered.

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Best Actress Award

Nadia Tereszkiewicz for her role in Only the Animals (Dominik Moll) – France | 2019 – 117 minutes

In France’s snowy region, a woman disappears and a solitary farmer is seen as a suspect. At the same time, a youth carrying a goat somewhere in Africa pays a visit to a shaman. Multiple viewpoints reveal a shocking truth in the latest work by this noted director.

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Best Actor Award

Navid Mohammadzadeh for his role in Just 6.5 (Saeed Roustaee) – Iran | 2019 – 134 minutes

Best Artistic Contribution

Chaogtu with Sarula by Wang Rui – China | 2019 – 111 minutes

Chaogtu yearns to move to the city, while his wife, Sarula, is content with their life on the Mongolian prairie. Then one day change comes creeping into the region. This tale of conjugal love combines traditional landscapes with contemporary social issues.

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Best Screenplay Award

A Beloved Wife by Shin Adachi – Japan | 2019 – 117 minutes

The screenplay writer of the award-winning 100 Yen Love directs this film, based on his autobiographical novel “A Beloved Wife”, about an unemployed screenplay writer and his troublesome wife.

Audience Award

Only the Animals by Dominik Moll – France | 2019 – 117 minutes

Asian Future Best Film Award

Summer Knight by You Xing – China | 2018 – 99 minutes

Summer, 1997. School boy Tiantian stays with his grandparents. His grandma’s bicycle is stolen, so he and his cousin try to capture the thief. Summer Knight depicts a boy’s summer experiences and emotions.

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The Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asia Center

Reza Jamali for Old Men Never Die – Iran | 2019 – 87 minutes

In a village where nobody has died for 45 years and only the aged remain, 100-year-old Aslan and his friends begin to think suicide is the solution. This allegorical tale for adults is a skilful directorial debut.

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Japanese Cinema Splash Best Film Award

i-Documentary of the Journalist by Tatsuya Mori – Japan | 2019 – 113 minutes

This documentary from the producer of The Journalist and director Tatsuya Mori, known for A and Fake, follows the real-life female journalist, Isoko Mochizuki, on whom the protagonist was loosely based.

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Japanese Cinema Splash Best Director Award

Hirobumi Watanabe for Cry – Japan | 2019 – 75 minutes

The latest unique human drama from Hirobumi and Yuji Watanabe portrays, in black and white and without words, a man who lives with his aging grandmother and works silently in a pigpen.

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