30th Tokyo International Film Festival – Awards 2017

By Asian Film Festival on November 3, 2017 • ( Leave a comment )

We present the list of winners of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival 2017, which took place from October 25th – November 3rd in Tokyo, Japan.

Toyko Grand Prix / The Governor of Tokyo Award

Grain by Semih Kaplanoglu – Turkey | 2017 – 127 min.

In the near future in a world beset by food shortages, a professor embarks on a trip to find a grain to save humankind. This epic sci-fi work touches on many contemporary issues, such as the refugee crisis.

Trailer:

Special Jury Prize

Crater (Il cratere) by Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellino – Italy | 2017 – 93 min.

Discovering that his daughter has a gift for singing, a man who supports his family by selling stuffed toys on the rough streets of Naples dedicates himself to promoting her career in this startlingly realistic drama.

Movie Clip:

Best Director Award

Edmund Yeo for Aqérat (We the Dead) – Malaysia | 2017 – 106 min.

Short of money, a woman turns to human trafficking to make ends meet. Focusing in part on the Rohingyas’ flight to Malaysia to avoid persecution, the film is a poetic depiction of one woman’s spiritual journey.

Trailer:

Best Actress Award

Adeline D’Hermy for Maryline (Guillaume Gallienne) – France | 2017 – 107 min.

An aspiring actress passes a film audition but runs out of patience with the unreasonable director. Can she still make her dreams come true? This moving drama vividly depicts the woman’s precarious fate.

Best Actor Award

Duan Yihong for The Looming Storm (Dong Yue) – China | 2017 – 120 min.

Yu, a self-assured factory guard, fancies himself a detective and begins poking his nose into a murder investigation. Things only grow more complicated in this Chinese film noir dealing with love and destiny.

Trailer:

Best Artistic Contribution

The Looming Storm by Dong Yue – China | 2017 – 120 min.

Best Screenplay Award (by WOWOW)

Euthanizer by Teemu Nikki – Finland | 2017 – 84 min.

A man who is ostensibly a car mechanic is secretly involved in euthanizing animals. Giving candid advice to his clients, he calmly goes about his business until one day, after letting a dog live, everything changes.

Trailer:

Audience Award

Tremble All You Want by Akiko Ooku – Japan | 2017 – 117 min.

Finally, a real romance appears in her life full of secret, unrequited love. Wavering between two “boyfriends”, she tackles her ruthless reality in this non-stop romantic comedy.

Trailer:

Best Asian Future Film award

Passage of Life by Akio Fujimoto – Japan, Myanmar | 2017 – 101 min.

A Burmese family of four is living in Japan. One day they get a letter that will change their lives forever… Based on a true story, this is a tale of love that across the borders.

Trailer:

The Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asian Center

Akio Fujimoto for Passage of Life – Japan, Myanmar | 2017 – 101 min.

Asian Future Special Mention

Old Beast by Zhou Ziyang – China | 2017 – 110 min.

A rowdy father always fails in business and ends up gambling. His three sons are solid and reliable, but their sickly mother falls… First-time director’s film from emerging Inner Mongolia.

Trailer:

Japanese Cinema Splash
Best Picture Award

Of Love & Law by Hikaru Toda – Japan | 2017 – 94 min.

Fumi and Kazu are partners in love and law; they run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple. Together for 15 years, the lawyers want to raise a family of their own in a country where their partnership has no legal recognition or protection. Driven by their own experience of being ‘outsiders’, they attract a range of clients who reveal the hidden diversity of a country that prides itself on its obedience, politeness and conformity. Tired of being silenced and made to feel invisible, the lawyers and their misfit clients expose and challenge the archaic status quo.

Samurai Award

Ryuichi Sakamoto