Takako Miyahira's "Looking for Anne" wins top prizes at 5th annual Asian Festival of First Films

by Chris MaGee

Here's a success story for both Japanese and Canadian cinema. Last Friday Takako Miyahira and her debut film "Looking for Anne" picked up Best Director and Best Film at the 5th annual Asian Festival of First Films. The 30-year-old filmmaker whose previous credits include an editing credit on Claude Gagnon's 2005 Japanese-Canadian co-production "Kamataki" was on hand at the awards ceremony in Singapore to accept both trophies.

As we reported back in July "Looking for Anne" follows a shy young Japanese woman named Anri (Kazuko Yoshiyuki ) who travels to Prince Edward Island to find her late grandmother's lover, a soldier from the Allied Occupation of Japan, and the man that gifted her grandmother with a copy of Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel "Anne of Green Gables".

Like "Kamataki" Miyahira's "Looking for Anne" is a Japanese-Canadian co-production, and this time out Miyahira's former boss, Claude Gagnon, acted as on of "Looking for Anne's" producers. Congratulations to Miyahira and Gagnon, as well as the rest of the cast and crew for this success.

Thanks to Japan Today for the details on this, and make sure to check out the trailer for "Looking for Anne" below.