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A still from the movie The Western Trunk Line.
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The Western Trunk Line, a Chinese movie telling the story
of a remote town at the end of 1970s, won the Special Jury Prize at
the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival on Sunday.
"I have been thinking to make such a move since 1994," said
director Li Jixian at the awards ceremony at Shibuya's Bunkamura,
Tokyo. "I met a great many challenges in writing the screenplay,
but I never thought of quitting."
The Band's Visit, a movie jointly produced by Israel
and France, grabbed the "Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix" top prize. The
film, directed by Eran Kolirin, tells a story of an Egyptian police
band getting lost in Israel.
British film Dangerous Parking by Peter Howitt won the
award for best director, while the Best Actress and Best Actor went
to Shefali Shah (India, Gandhi My Father) and Damian UI
(Poland, Tricks) respectively.
Director Li Jixi gives a
speech upon receiving the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo
International Film Festival, October 28, 2007.
Two popular films in the competition sector, the festival's
opening movie Crossing Over (Feng Huang), jointly
produced by Japan and China, as well as the US movie Reign Over
Me featuring a post-September 11th story, did not win any
awards.
The winner of the Grand Prix will be awarded US$50,000, while
other prizes in the competition categories range from US$5,000 to
US$20,000 each.
Also included in the festival is the Akira Kurosawa Award,
established in 2004 at the annual film festival to commemorate the
Japanese movie legend. David Puttnam, now president of UNICEF UK
and former independent movie producer, won this year's Akira
Kurosawa Award. He is famed for the Oscar-winning Chariots of
Fire, as well as The Mission, The Killing
Fields, Local Hero, and other movies.
Leading actress Shen Jiani,
screenwriter Li Wei, and director Li Jixian of The Western
Trunk Line at the Tokyo International Film Festival, October
28, 2007.
During the 9-day film festival, over 300 films from various
countries and regions have been shown in Shibuya, Roppongi, and
other locations around Tokyo. A number of related events featuring
animated films, Chinese movie week, Korean cinema week, "Tokyo in
Focus," women's film festival, short films, internet movies, and
others have also been staged.
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(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2007)
