‘Grain’ bags Tokyo Grand Prix at 30th Tokyo Int’l Film Fest

The winners were announced at the closing ceremony on the festival’s final day. (Photo from https://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201711087727/?images)

TOKYO/Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ — The Tokyo Grand Prix at the recently concluded 30th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) went to “Grain,” directed by Semih Kaplanoglu. The film bested 231 films screened during the festival attended by 63,679 film fans from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3, 2017.

The winners were announced at the closing ceremony on the festival’s final day.

– Competition section

Tokyo Grand Prix: “Grain” (directed by Semih Kaplanoglu)

Special Jury Prize: “Crater” (directed by Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellino)

Award for Best Director: Edmund Yeo (“AQERAT (We the Dead)”)

Award for Best Actress: Adeline D’Hermy (“Maryline”)

Award for Best Actor: Duan Yihong (“The Looming Storm”)

Award for Best Artistic Contribution: “The Looming Storm” (directed by Dong Yue)

Award for Best Screenplay by WOWOW: “Euthanizer” (written and directed by Teemu Nikki)

Audience Award: “Tremble All You Want” (directed by Akiko Ooku)

– Asian Future section

Best Asian Future Film Award: “Passage of Life” (directed by Akio Fujimoto)

The Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asia Center: Director Akio Fujimoto (“Passage of Life”)

– Japanese Cinema Splash section

Best Picture Award: “Of Love & Law” (directed by Hikaru Toda)

– SAMURAI Award: Composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto

– Gemstone Award: Mayu Matsuoka (“Tremble All You Want” actress), Shizuka Ishibashi (“THE TOKYO NIGHT SKY IS ALWAYS THE DENSEST SHADE OF BLUE” actress), Adeline D’Hermy (“Maryline” actress), Daphne Low (“AQERAT (We the Dead)” actress)

In awarding the prize to Kaplanoglu, jury president Tommy Lee Jones said, “We were impressed by this movie’s appreciation of the common understanding among all people through a shared mythic experience.”

He then shared his own thoughts on the 30th TIFF, praising his fellow jury members, calling them “very bright filmmakers and thoughtful people.” He also noted they had a very international mix, saying, “We speak five different languages and needed five different interpreters…it felt like the United Nations! But we’re more humorous than the United Nations.”

Jones also laid out his final feelings about TIFF and the jury’s final selections: “Festivals, at their best, are meant to relieve filmmakers and audiences from strict commercial demands,” and added, “As filmmakers, we have not been born and raised to waste your time, we have been born to improve it–and I know that I can speak for this jury when I say we remain your humble and hopeful servants.”