Milcho Manchevski’s ‘Sister Brother Manhole Cover’ Wins Top Prize at Tokyo Film Fest

Milcho Manchevski’s Sister Brother Manhole Cover took the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), as the event closed as it had opened, on a rainy day in the Japanese capital.

The Macedonian filmmaker’s winner tells of fraternal and maternal love on the edges of society, in his first feature since Kaymak, which was also in competition in Tokyo, in 2022. The prize comes with the Governor of Tokyo Award’s $19,000 (3 million yen). The two leads Sara Klimoska and Filip Trajkovikj were in attendance, along with producer Kortoshev, who accepted the award in place of Manchevski, who had left Tokyo but sent a video message.

The best director award went to Argentina’s Lisandro Alonso for Double Freedom. The special jury prize was won by Magic Atlas by Sun Xun, which took more than a decade to complete, and became the first animation selected for the main competition in Tokyo. Hu Ling won best actress for The Night That Binds Us, a France-Hong Kong co-production, while Japan’s only win came in the form of Narita Ryo’s best actor for Two Cigarettes, Three Nights.

The jury was headed by Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer’s fellow, alongside producers Alex Lo and Oh Jungwan, actor Watanabe Makiko and colorist Yov Moor.

Heysel 85, set against the backdrop of the Heysel Stadium disaster that killed 39 supporters during the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus, won the audience award for director Teodora Ana Mihai.

Serife Tavsan, by Afghani director Tareq Daoud, won the Asian Future competition for emerging regional filmmakers and a $6,325 (1 million yen) cash prize.

More than 69,000 people attended screenings of 204 films during the 10 days of the 39^th edition of the festival across the Hibiya-Marunouchi-Yurakucho-Ginza area, up slightly on last year.