The 24th Tokyo IFF wraps with two Japanese films picking up awards

by Chris MaGee

An intense period of work on the 2012 Shisnedai Cinema Festival and some personal matters derailed the blog for a week, and during our very brief hiatus some big news came down from Tokyo. The 24th annual Tokyo International Film Festival wrapped up with an awards ceremony that saw two Japanese films being given honours.

In the Japanese Eyes program Keiichi Kobayashi's teen drama "About the Pink Sky" (above) picked up the top prize. In a plot that sounds a little like a variation on Satoru Hirohara's indie drama "Good Morning to the World!!", "About the Pink Sky" follows a high school girl who is trying to find the owner of a wallet full of money that she has found. Unlike Hirohara's film "About the Pink Sky" goes for a subtle art house feel by being shot entirely in black-and-white.

Meanwhile, in a Special Jury Prize was awarded to Shuichi Okita's heartwarming comedy "The Woodsman and the Rain". This story of a lumberjack who gets caught up in a young indie filmmakers zombie movie stars Koji Yakusho and Shun Oguri. Many of you will remember that director Shuichi Okita brought us another crowd-pleaser last year with "The Chef of the South Pole".

Our congratulations goes out to Kobayashi-san, Okita-san and all the winners at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival. For a full list of who won what head to Tokyo IFF's official website here.