Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

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The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a bi-annual film festival held in October in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It was first held in October 1989, and showcases new documentary films from around the world. The festival was most recently held in October 2005.

[edit] Awards

A number of prizes are awarded at the festival, including the Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize, the Mayor's Prize (Prize of Excellence), the New Asian Currents Award, which honours up-and-coming Asian filmmakers, and the Citizens' Prize, voted for by the festival audience.

[edit] 2005 Festival

The 2005 festival was held from October 7 to October 13. Over 150 films were screened, including a number in the thread Borders Within: What it Means to Live in Japan, which focused on the experiences of the zainichi Koreans, ethnic Koreans living in Japan.

The following awards were given at the 2005 festival:

• The Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize): Before the Flood (Li Yifan, Yan Yu / China)

• The Mayor’s Prize: Route 181—Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel (Michel Khleifi, Eyal Sivan / Belgium, France, UK, Germany)

• Special Jury Prize: Darwin's Nightmare (Hubert Sauper / Austria, Belgium, France)

• Award of Excellence: Foreland (Albert Elings, Eugenie Jansen / The Netherlands)

• Award of Excellence: About a Farm (Mervi Junkkonen / Finland)

• Ogawa Shinsuke Prize: The Cheese & The Worms (Kato Haruyo / Japan)

• Awards of Excellence: President Mir Qanbar (Mohammad Shirvani / Iran); Garden (Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash / Israel)

• Special mentions: Dear Pyongyang (Yang Yonghi / Japan); The Spirit of 8 (Li Chia-hua / Taiwan)

• Citizens’ Prize: In the Shadow of the Palms - Iraq (Wayne Coles-Janess / Australia)

• FIPRESCI Prize: The Cheese & The Worms (Kato Haruyo / Japan)

• FIPRESCI Best Short Film: Keep the Change (Ceren Bayar, Dilek Iyigün, Elif Karadenizli, Özge Kendirci, Savas Ilhan / Turkey)

• Community Cinema Award: Darwin's Nightmare (Hubert Sauper / Austria, Belgium, France)

[edit] External links

• Official site in English