Epilogue takes top prize at Tokyo Filmex

Manor’s feature debut chronicles the daily struggles of an elderly Israeli couple. Lead actors Yosef Carmon and Rivka Gur previously won at the Jerusalem film festival. The film had its international premiere at Venice Days in September.

The special jury prize and $3,700 (Y300,000) was given to Chinese film Memories Look At Me, directed by Song Fang. The family drama screened as an Asian premiere, previously showing in Vancouver, New York and Mar del Plata. It won best first feature in Locarno.

The competition jury was led by Japanese director Sabu, joined by Screen International critic Dan Fainaru, Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Japanese critic Sahoko Hata and UniFrance’s Valérie-Anne Christen.

A special achievement award was also given to veteran Iranian film actor Behrouz Vossoughi, who made a comeback this year in Bahman Ghobadi’s Rhino Season, which closed the festival.

Kim Ki-duk’s Venice-winning Pieta took the audience award. Kim also won last year for Arirang. The Student Jury prize, established last year, was picked up by Takahashi Izumi’s I Am Not The World You Want To Change.

2012’s edition also featured special programmes on Japanese master Keisuke Kinoshita and Israeli masterpieces. A selection of the restored Kinoshita films are set to travel to other festivals in 2013.

The second edition of Talent Campus Tokyo ran from Nov 26-Dec 2 with Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Hong Kong writer-director Shu Kei, Coproduction Office founder Philippe Bober, and Berlin talent campus project manager Christine Trostrum serving as mentors.

Among 15 emerging filmmakers and producers from Asia, mainland Chinese producer Li Shanshan won the TCT award and $3,700 for documentary project The Road, currently in production under director Zhang Zanbo. The film depicts the negative effects of a new highway being built through a community in Hunan.