The Iranian feature drama, ‘World Northern Hemisphere,’ directed by Hossein Tehrani, was awarded the Best Film Award in the Asian Future Section (for films by up-and-coming Asian directors) of the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
The drama is about a 14-yar-old boy who supports his family following his father’s death.
‘World Northern Hemisphere’ is also competing at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF), which opened on Nov. 5 and will run through Nov. 14.
Festival screenings were all held this year as in-person events. Held this year from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8, TIFF recorded 29,414 admissions to 126 films, sharply down from last year’s 40,553 admissions, and the screening of 138 films.
‘Vera Dreams of the Sea,’ Kaltrina Krasniqi’s semi-autobiographical drama about a sign-language interpreter who battles for her rights in an inheritance dispute, was awarded the Tokyo Grand Prix at the Japanese festival. The prize is worth $30,000.
TIFF also announced two winners in its Amazon Prime Video Take One Award, which aims to discover new Japanese directors through an open call for short film submissions. Kim Yunsoo took the main award for ‘Sunday & Calm Sea,’ while the special jury prize went to Sangoumi Midori for ‘Under the Bridge’. The awards come with cash prizes of 1m and 500,000 Japanese yen, respectively, and the opportunity to explore the production of a feature film with Amazon Studios.
Source: Iran daily