AMANDA Wins Tokyo Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival

The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), held from October 25 to November 3, concluded with the announcement of winners at the Award Ceremony on its 9th day of the festival. This year, TIFF screened 181 films and 62,125 film fans (not including last day's turnout) attended the screenings. The Tokyo Grand Prix was awarded to "Amanda" directed by Mikhael Hers. Following are the winners of awards in all sections.

- Competition section
Tokyo Grand Prix: "Amanda" (directed by Mikhael Hers)
Special Jury Prize: "Before the Frost" (directed by Michael Noer)
Award for Best Director: Edoardo De Angelis ("The Vice of Hope")
Award for Best Actress: Pina Turco ("The Vice of Hope")
Award for Best Actor: Jesper Christensen ("Before the Frost")
Award for Best Artistic Contribution: "The White Crow" (directed by Ralph Fiennes)
Award for Best Screenplay by WOWOW: "Amanda" (co-written by Maud Ameline and director Mikhael Hers)
Audience Award: "Another World" (directed by Junji Sakamoto)

- Asian Future section
Asian Future Best Film Award: "A First Farewell" (directed by Lina Wang)
The Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asia Center: Director Huang Huang ("Wushu Orphan")

- Japanese Cinema Splash section
Best Film Award: "Lying to Mom" (directed by Katsumi Nojiri)
Japanese Cinema Splash Best Director Award: Director Masaharu Take ("The Gun"), Director Seiji Tanaka ("Melancholic")

- Gemstone Award: Mai Kiryu("Lying to Mom", "The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine"), Lien Binh Phat ("The Tap Box"), Karelle Tremblay ("The Fireflies Are Gone"), and Nijiro Murakami ("The Gun").

Jury President Brillante Ma Mendoza commented that "Amanda"is "a seemingly simple, but not simple film" and "a story of complex human emotions." Mendoza then shared his thoughts on the festival overall: "We the jury had such a good time together. The past few days, it was quite challenging to choose the winners because of the vast diversity of the films." He added thanks to those behind the scenes, like assistant directors, production managers and more, as well as TIFF's volunteer staff for their "kindness, hospitality and warmth."

Photo Courtesy of Tokyo International Film Festival