Interview
■Award Winners of Feature Length Competition
■Award Winners of Short Length Competition
Award Winners of Feature Length Competition
＜Grand Prize＞ Miguel Ángel Jiménez (Director) "Chaika"
- How do you feel?
I'm so happy and surprised. I'd like to thank the members of the jury and all those who saw my film. The audiences in Japan responded so strongly and I was pleased with the way they watched my film with such care. The only thing for me to say now is didi madloba in Georgian, spasibo in Russian, muchas gracias in Spanish and arigatou.
- What are your impressions of the festival?
It was my first visit to Japan and, as well as seeing and experiencing many things, this trip gave me an opportunity to reflect on myself as a Spanish citizen. The film festival was great. The response from the audience was strong and I was very pleased.
<Best Director> Yariv Horowitz (Director) "Rock the Casbah"
The festival was very well organized. Considering the selection of works was so strong, I was honestly surprised to receive an award. The staff and audience were so kind. I could really feel their love of cinema and I hope to come back one day.
<Best Screenplay> Juan Carlos Maneglia(Director) "7 Boxes"
The festival was very well arranged. The quality of the festival, including the screening facilities and personal correspondence with the members of staff, left me with a strong impression.
<Special Jury Prize> Yuichiro Sakashita(Director) "Kanagawa University of Fine Arts, Office of Film Research"
While I was making the film, I was vaguely hoping for it to be screened at a festival and maybe for it to eventually receive a theatrical run. As well as being awarded the Special Jury Award, I'm so pleased to have my dream come true so quickly with a theatrical release promised by its selection for the SKIP City D-Cinema Project.
<Special Jury Prize> Shingo Matsumura(Director) "Striking Out in Love"
As a filmmaker myself, I was impressed with the high quality of the works selected both locally and internationally. Stimulated by many of the films that I saw, I became certain of the benefits the experience of being a part of the festival will have on my following film.
Award Winners of Short Length Competition
<Best Picture> Junichi Kanai(Director) "Transferring"
As my film "Courtship" was nominated in the Feature Length Competition in 2009, I'm pleased to have received an award for this year's edition. When I decided to shoot this film, I had come to realize it would be impossible for me to ignore the earthquake. During the shoot, the film was blessed with beautiful images taken of winds that blew across us by chance as if they were from the novel Matasaburo of the Winds. In November 2013, my feature length film "Again" will be theatrically released. With this award as an incentive, I hope to stand firm in the world of cinema as I embark on the next steps in my career.
- What are your impressions of the festival?
Although Transferring has been screened in many theaters, the screening facilities at SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL were exceptional. While watching the film in the theatre, even I was shocked hearing the beautiful sounds we had captured in the film that had previously passed me unnoticed.
<Honorable Mention> Nobuyasu Uchida(Director) "Hikari"
I'm very pleased that my film was screened in front of so many people and that it received an Honorable Mention. For my next project, I'm considering to shoot a feature length film that I am already in the progress of planning. I hope to return to the festival again with the film completed.
<Honorable Mention> Nobuyuki Miyake(Director) "No Longer There"
- What are your impressions of the festival?
In other film festivals we have taken part in the audience is usually full of individuals from the film industry. What surprised and pleased us the most was the number of general audiences who attended our film without knowing anything about it. It is important for my film to be experienced for the first time on the big screen, so it was interesting for me to be able to be a part of the audience and feel their responses so closely.