Tokyo Film Festival Winners: ‘Snow Leopard’ By Late Tibetan Filmmaker Pema Tseden Takes Top Prize

It was a big night for Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards as they both took the most trophies.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Italian writer-director Emma Dante’s “Misericordia” has won the top prize at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Adapted from her own play, her third feature tells the story of a young man (Simone Zambelli) with learning difficulties, cared for by a group of sex workers on an island, protecting him from the cruelty of his abusive father. It’s a raw portrait of a marginalized group of people, mixing natural beauty of the locations with the grime of everyday existence.

The nonprofit Sundance Institute today revealed an additional honoree of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s fundraiser, Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years,whichwill take place on January 18, 2024, at the DeJoria Center in Utah. 

Paul Ridd, a long-term acquisitions exec at Picturehouse Cinemas, has been named director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF).

th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the highest accolade given out by the festival. He will be honored at a ceremony scheduled for Feb. 9.

a Q&A with the actor on Sunday.“What do you think about [the] crash scenes?” Driver was asked by the audience following the screening. “They looked pretty harsh, drastic and, I must say, cheesy for me.

Christopher Vourlias Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” won the Golden Alexander at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, marking the first time in 30 years that a Greek film took home the top honors at the country’s longest-running film event. Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.

Jaden Thompson MTV Documentary Films’ “The Eternal Memory,” directed by Maite Alberdi, will exclusively debut on Paramount+ in the U.S. on Nov.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Casino Royale” Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan actor-director Faouzi Bensaïdi will be celebrated with career achievement awards at the upcoming 20th Marrakech International Film Festival that will run Nov. 24- Dec.

EXCLUSIVE: Stars Collective, a Los Angeles-based film finance and mentorship arm, has announced the launch of Stars Asian International Film Festival – a new capsule film showcase to take place in Los Angeles November 12-16. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pia Lundberg, a Swedish film industry veteran, is set to succeed Jonas Holmberg as the new artistic director of Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s leading film-TV event. Lundberg most recently served as counsellor for cultural affairs at the Embassy of Sweden in London for the last five years.

Naman Ramachandran Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary “Against the Tide” has won the Golden Gateway Award at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The film previously won awards at Sundance, Sydney and Seattle. Diwa Shah’s San Sebastian winner “Bahadur: The Brave” received Mumbai’s Silver Gateway Award.

Japan has dominated this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), with German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ latest Tokyo-set pic and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car follow-up taking the top prizes. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare. The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov.

Christopher Vourlias When the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival kicks off its 64th edition on Nov. 2, the organizers will unveil a host of changes while renewing their commitment to serving audiences at one of Europe’s longest-running film events — all at a time of almost unprecedented uncertainty over the future of cinema and even the very purpose of festivals themselves.

This year’s Tokyo Film Festival closes this evening with the world premiere of Godzilla Minus One, the latest edition in Toho’s monster franchise, directed by filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki. 

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent “Snow Leopard,” the last film by Tibetan director Pema Tseden prior to his death in May, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and later screening at Toronto, the film depicts the argument between a father and his adult son of how to deal with the title beast, which has descended from the mountains to kill sheep in their village.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent WestEnd Films has scored multiple sales, including to North America, on British director Patrick Dickinson’s drama “Cottontail,” which stars Japan’s Lily Franky (“Shoplifters”) and Ciaran Hinds. The film, first announced at the AFM in 2019, won the prize for best first feature last week at the Rome Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.

Very little has been heard from Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya since her buzzy 2017 Cannes title Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts. 

“Ticket sales have gone up 27%, and we’re only at the midway point, so I’m quite happy,” Ando Hiroyasu, Tokyo Film Festival (TIFF) Chairman, told Deadline as he shuttled between engagements at this year’s busy and buzzy comeback edition.