‘Tokyo Koen’ receives the Golden Leopard Special Jury Prize at Locarno International Film Festival
On August 13th, director Aoyama Shinji’s movie, ‘Tokyo Koen‘, received the Golden Leopard Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival.
It is one of the world’s longest running international film festivals and has been held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. The top prize of the Festival is the Golden Leopard awarded to the best film in the international competition.
During a post-festival press conference, the jury chairperson explained, “We specially established a new first prize in honor of Director Aoyama’s movie and his achievements thus far.”
Based on author Shouji Yukiya’s novel, the movie is a love story involving a college student, ‘Koji’ (Miura Haruma), and his childhood friend (Eikura Nana). It illustrates the importance of close interpersonal relationships after facing the deaths of friends and loved ones.
After receiving the award, director Aoyama commented, “I’ve never dreamt of such an honor. I want this award to be helpful to Japan’s recovery.”
NHK reports on director Aoyama’s impressive win in the video below.
Click to viewsource:tokyohive