Annemarie Jacir’s ‘Palestine 36’ Takes Top Honors at Tokyo Festival

Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir received high praise at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where her film Palestine 36 was awarded the prestigious Tokyo Grand Prix and the Governor of Tokyo Award on November 5, 2023. The film, which serves as Palestine’s entry for the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Oscars, narrates the story of the Arab revolt against British colonial rule during the 1930s.

The Tokyo Grand Prix comes with a cash prize of $19,500 (JPY 3 million), highlighting the film’s critical acclaim and its significance in the cinematic landscape. In addition to Jacir’s win, Rithy Panh received the Special Jury Prize for his documentary We Are The Fruits Of The Forest, which explores the struggles of the Bunong people, Cambodia’s largest indigenous highland ethnic group, to maintain their cultural practices in a rapidly modernizing world. This award included a cash prize of $3,300 (JPY 500,000).

Acknowledging Directorial Excellence

The festival also recognized outstanding directorial talent. The Best Director award was shared between Zhang Lu for Mothertongue, a narrative about a failed actress returning to her hometown in Sichuan, and Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis for their film Heads or Tails?, which tells a story of a woman’s interactions with American cowboys in early 20th-century Northern Italy. Mothertongue also earned the Best Actor award for Wang Chuanjun‘s compelling performance.

Naomi Kawase and Momoko Fukuchi jointly received the Best Actress award for their portrayals in the Japanese drama Echoes Of Motherhood, the final installment in a trilogy directed by Ryutaro Nakagawa. Additionally, the award for Best Artistic Contribution was presented to Teona Strugar Mitevska for her film Mother, a co-production between Belgium and North Macedonia. The Audience Award went to Sakashita Yuichiro for his film Blonde.

Recognizing Emerging Talent

The festival’s main competition jury, chaired by Carlo Chatrian, included prominent figures such as Japanese actor and director Takumi Saitoh, Chinese director Vivian Qu, and Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-mei. In the Asian Future competition aimed at celebrating emerging filmmakers, the Asian Future Best Film Award, which carries a cash prize of $6,500 (JPY 1 million), was awarded to Halo, directed by Roh Young-wan from South Korea.

This year marked the introduction of an Asian Students’ Film Competition, showcasing 15 short films from film schools across Asia. The Best Film Award went to Floating, while the Asian Students’ Film Jury Prize was shared between Forever And A Day and Reviving The Engine. The jury for this segment was led by Rithy Panh and included Christian Jeune from Cannes and Japanese actress Tao Okamoto.

Furthermore, the festival honored Chloé Zhao for her work on Hamnet and Japanese filmmaker Lee Sang-il for Kokuho with the Kurosawa Akira Award. Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to veteran director Yoji Yamada and actress Sayuri Yoshinaga. The TIFF Ethical Film Award was awarded to the Brazilian film White House, directed by Luciano Vidigal.

The Tokyo International Film Festival continues to serve as a vital platform for filmmakers around the world, fostering cultural exchange and celebrating diverse narratives in cinema.