US-based directors Stephan Schaefer and Diane Crespo's Arranged has won best picture at the 5th annual Skip City International Digital Cinema Festival (July 19-27). The accolade also carried a $92,700 (Y10m) cash prize by fest sponsor Sony.

Arranged tells the story of two female teachers in Brooklyn, one Jewish and one Muslim, who bond over the issue of their upcoming arranged marriages. The film had extensive festival dates in the US, picking up awards at the Brooklyn International Film Festival and Washington Jewish Film Festival.

Other winners in the 12-film competition line-up included Spanish drama Listening To Gabriel, which won the best director prize and $18,540 (Y2m) for director Jose Enrique March and best screenplay and $9,270 (Y1m) for Ilmar Raag's tough Estonian school drama The Class.

Anders Morgenthaler's Echo and Jean Louis Milesi's Lino each won special jury prizes and Y1m.

In the Japanese short film category, directing unit Hamu (Shigeaki Kobayashi and Masato Honda) won best picture and Y1m for Elephant Mado while Kenji Shibayama's A Day Of Black Long-Sleeved Kimono and Kazuyuki Yoshii's Nozoki picked up honorable mentions.

This year's jury was headed by Austrian film producer Danny Krausz, joined by Korean director Hong Sang-soo, Argentinean cinematographer Ricardo De Angelis, Closed Note producer Morio Amagi and Japanese screenwriter Masako Imai (Helen The Baby Fox).

Yoji Yamada's The Tale Of Bunshichi had its world premiere as the opening gala ahead of its October 18 release.

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