Tokyo film festival closes with top prize going to Holocaust-themed film
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Poster of The Bloom of Yesterday. [Photo/Mtime] |
A total of 16 films competed in the main section of the festival, and The Bloom of Yesterday, a German-Austrian film tackling the Holocaust theme, won the $50,000 Tokyo Grand Prix.
The film, directed by Chris Kraus, depicts the life crisis and struggle of a renowned German Holocaust researcher who is grandson of a Nazi war criminal yet falls in love with a French Jewish woman.
The film "put things into perspective" about how people in current times would "pay the price" for crimes of the past, Jean-Jacques Beineix, French director and producer and head of the international jury for the award, was quoted as saying.
Chinese film Mr. No Problem by director Mei Feng won the award for best artistic contribution.
The film, based on a 1943 short story by famous Chinese writer Lao She, was shot in stylish black-and-white and tells the story of a high productive farm in wartime Chongqing failing to turn a profit under the facade of having no problem.
The special jury prize went to Swedish film Sami Blood, which depicts prejudice against the Sami indigenous people of the Swedish mountains. The film also won best actress for Lene Cecilia Sparrok, while best actor award went to Paolo Ballesteros for his performance in Die Beautiful as a Filipino transgender woman.
In the Asian Future section, Philippine film Birdshot won the Best Asian Future Film Award which aims to recognize aspiring new directors from the Asian region, while the Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asia Center went to Indian film Lipstick Under My Burkha.
The Tokyo International Film Festival started in 1985 as Japan's first major film festival. During the 10-day event this year, a total of 206 films were screened at theaters in the Roppongi Hills and other areas in Tokyo.
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