Manchevski's "Sister Brother Manhole Cover" Wins Top Prize at Tokyo

Milcho Manchevski's "Sister Brother Manhole Cover" has won the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, Variety reported. The top prize is worth JPY3 million, about $19,000.

The film follows two siblings who strip scrap metal from the streets of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. It is Manchevski's first fiction feature since "Kaymak." The production is a co-production between North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Italy and the UK, a mix of countries that often share the cost and crew of a single film. Manchevski has previously won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

The festival ran from October 26 to November 4, and fifteen titles competed for the Tokyo Grand Prix. The competition jury was headed by Rolf de Heer, the Australian filmmaker. Its members included producers Alex Lo and Oh Jungwan, actor Watanabe Makiko and colourist Yov Moor.

Several other prizes went to films from across Asia and beyond. Sun Xun's "Magic Atlas," from Singapore, won the Special Jury Prize, worth JPY500,000 ($3,200). Lisandro Alonso took best director for "Double Freedom."

In the acting categories, Narita Ryo was named best actor for Mishima Yukiko's "Two Cigarettes, Three Nights," and Hu Ling won best actress for Wang Jiangyong's "The Night That Binds Us." Jelena Maksimovic's "Until the Day Ends" won the best artistic contribution award. The directing, acting and artistic prizes each carry JPY300,000 ($1,900).

In the Asian Future section, Tareq Daoud's "Serife Tavsan" won best film, with a prize of JPY1 million ($6,300). Ariani Darmawan's Indonesian film "Jani Be Good" received a special mention.

The audience award went to Teodora Ana Mihai's "Heysel 85," which carries no cash prize. The film recreates the 1985 Brussels stadium disaster, in which fan violence before the European Cup final killed 39 people.

The cash on offer in Tokyo is modest by festival standards. The prizes matter more for the attention they bring, and for the names that now sit beside each film when sales agents and buyers look at it.