City Of Wind, directed by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, won the Grand Prix for best picture at Japan’s Osaka Asian Film Festival (March 1-10).
The film, which had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of Venice Film Festival, follows a high school student as he navigates the tension between staying true to his own desires and honouring his duties.
OAFF’s competition jury said the film “illuminates a world we had not seen before and tackles issues of spirituality and intergenerational conflict with a deft and confident hand. The film depicts the growth of the central character with sensitivity and features a revelatory performance at the centre.”
Taiwanese film Salli was awarded with two prizes at the festival – the Most Promising Talent Award for its director Lien Chien Hung, and the ABC TV Award, presented by Japanese broadcaster Asahi Broadcasting Corp. The film tells the story of a lonely, middle-aged chicken farmer in Taiwan who gets drawn into the world of online dating.
Other winners at the festival included actor Chi Yun, who won the Yakushi Pearl Award for her performance in Autralia-China collaboration Unborn Soul, and Japanese filmmaker Noriko Yuasa’s Performing Kaoru’s Funeral, which won the Japan Cuts Award (see full list of award winners below).
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024:
Grand Prix (Best Picture Award):
City Of Wind (France, Mongolia. Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Qatar)
Director: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Most Promising Talent Award: Lien Chien Hung (Taiwan), director of Salli
ABC TV Award: Salli (Taiwan, France), dir: Lien Chien Hung
Yakushi Pearl Award: Chi Yun (Australia, China) actor, Unborn Soul
Japan Cuts Award: Performing Kaoru’s Funeral (Japan, Spain, Singapore), dir: Yuasa Noriko
Japan Cuts Award Special Mention: Blue Imagine (Japan, Philippines, Singapore), dir: Matsubayashi Urara
Housen Short Film Award: Sojourn To Shangri-La (China), dir: Lin Yihan
Housen Short Film Award Special Mention:
On A Boat (Japan), dir: Heso
Sweet Lime (Hong Kong, UK), dir: Fatema Abdoolcarim
Audience Award: Amalock (Japan), dir: Nakamura Kazuhiro