Special Jury Award

Critical Zone

Iran, Germany / 2023 / 99 min
Director：Ali AHMADZADEH

A lone man meanders at night through the streets of Tehran in his car, guided by the voice coming from his GPS. He is Amir, a drug dealer. Surrounded by the dark of night and the lights of the city he meets and welcomes into his car customers from all walks of life: residents of an old-age home, a stewardess just returned to Iran, transexual prostitutes working in the streets, and a mother trying to wrest her son from the throes of drug addiction. This film, the third feature from director Ali AHMADZADEH whose "Atomic Heart" (2015) showed in the Berlinale Forum, employs a surreal style that includes elements of documentary directly. It intuitively depicts the beneath-the-surface smouldering in a relentlessly oppressed society, and the suffering and desires of the younger generation and the people of today. Despite Iranian authorities banning the director from exiting the country, this film still took the Golden Leopard Award (the grand prize) at the Locarno Film Festival.

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Tiger Stripes ★

Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar / 2023 / 95 min
Director：Amanda Nell EU

Twelve-year-old Zafan attends an Islamic girls school. Expected by those around her to strictly adhere to conservative norms, yet she remorselessly delights in dangerous "deviant" acts as she carefreely plays with her friends-dancing and removing her scarf, and filming this act of disrobing on her cell phone. Gradually she discovers that her body is changing faster than anyone else around her. At first, her friends see her difference as a kind of privilege, but slowly she finds herself ostracized and bullied by her friends, and even her best friend Farah. Her problems don't end there, as her body continues to change. The feature-length directorial debut film of Amanda Nell EU who won a Talents Tokyo award in 2018 for this work when it was still in its planning stages. The frustrations and anxieties of adolescence-when women's bodies are changing, under the microscope of society-depicted through the metaphors of a horror film. Won the Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week Grand Prix.

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Grand Prize

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell ★

Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain / 2023 / 178 min
Director：PHAM Thien An

Thien lost his sister-in-law in a motorcycle accident. He has to take her body from Saigon to his rural hometown with his little nephew, who miraculously survived the crash. After the funeral at the local Christian community, Thien begins his search for his long-lost brother in the beautiful and mystical landscape of the Vietnamese countryside. The journey to find his brother gradually transforms into a journey to search for his own soul. In the landscape of his eyes, the past and the present, dreams and reality, and this world and another randomly intertwine. Vietnamese filmmaker PHAM Thien An's feature debut is an impressive work, with meticulous long takes that leave a vivid impression and a confident style that reflects his sophistication already at this stage of his fresh career. The meticulous sound design is also superb, revealing PHAM's formidable talent. The film screened at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Camera d'Or.

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Special Jury Award

Audiene Award

If Only I Could Hibernate ★

Mongolia, France, Switzerland, Qatar / 2023 / 98 min
Director：Zoljargal PUREVDASH

Ulzii is a teenager living in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. With his gifted talent in mathematics, he is determined to win a physics competition and fund himself to go to a prestigious school with a scholarship. However, his plan takes a turn when his mother decides to take a job in the countryside and leaves him and his younger siblings at home. Ulzii spends his study time taking care of his siblings, struggling to keep the house heated to survive the harsh winter... Winner of the Talents Tokyo Award 2017 at the development stage, this film is Zoljargal PUREVDASH's feature debut. The film is in the lineage of social realist films, if we dare say, but it does not reflect the gloomy society and tragic situation as it is - instead, a hopeful and optimistic viewpoint always finds its way. Screened at the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard as the very first Mongolian feature film in history.

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Absence ★

China / 2023 / 102 min
Director：WU Lang

Jiangyu returns to Hainan Island after spending 10 years in prison. During his absence, the island has undergone major social changes with the development of a housing project. He reunites with his former lover Hong, who runs a small beauty parlor. Presuming that the small girl whom Hong fosters is his daughter, Jiangyu tries to adjust to the new society and rebuild himself... Up-and-coming filmmaker WU Lang's first feature film expands the short film of the same title screened at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is highly socially conscious - set against the backdrop of hundreds of abandoned houses under construction due to poor urban planning and many people in desperate need of housing, but much of this is captured through strong imagery and skilful composition, with minimal exposition. Similarly in the melodramatic element of the film, the protagonists are generally seen as reserved, but the direction is excellent in revealing deep and subtle emotions through small gestures and changes in facial expressions. The film premiered in the Encounters section at the Berlin International Film Festival.

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Only the River Flows

China / 2023 / 101 min
Director：WEI Shujun

A rural Chinese town in the 1990s. Detective Ma Zhe, Chief of the Criminal Police, is placed in charge of the investigation when an elderly woman's corpse is found by the river. His team soon arrests a suspect whom his higher-ups delightedly pronounce to be the killer, as they move to close the case. Yet more bodies are found and when Ma Zhe discovers that a woman spotted at the scene has vanished, his suspicions are raised and he opposes his superiors, continuing the investigation-with unexpected consequences. A film noir shot in 16mm, striking for its rich visual palette of reddish brown, faded blue, and shadows with a spectrum of blacks. A dark comedy where it always feels like something unjust is transpiring, the constantly changing trajectory of the case investigation is depicted with humor. WEI Shujun shines in his social commentary of China prior to the recent economic boom and after the Tiananmen Square incident.

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Student Jury Prize

Mimang ★

Korea / 2023 / 92 min
Director：KIM Taeyang

As the young artist and film lecturer take a stroll and drive through the ever-changing city of Seoul, the film captures the evolving destiny and milestones in their lives. Two old friends walk shoulder to shoulder through crosswalks and alleys, exchanging conversations about their views on romantic relationships, career goals, or local monuments. Their return to the same places, stories, and points of conversation is then observed over several years of filming. The title "Mimang" is a Korean word that has several definitions, and it is one of the concepts that are thought to be difficult to describe in words. The film deals with just such emotions that are difficult to verbalize - emotions that are felt every day but usually forgotten, but cleverly collected throughout the story. The cityscapes are beautifully spotted with the telephoto lens, and the sound design including the environmental sounds of the city is also superb. This is a debut feature film of emerging director KIM Taeyang, premiered in the Discovery section at the Toronto International Film Festival.

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After the Fever

Japan / 2023 / 127min
Director：YAMAMOTO Akira

Sanae, who once tried to kill her lover in order to keep her own love alive. Released from jail after several years, she is introduced to Kenta, who works in forestry, at an arranged marriage meeting. Because he accepts her in his own way, she accepts him too, and they take the plunge to get married, despite Kenta being well aware of her past. At first glance, they would seem to be happily married. However, when a mysterious woman named Adachi-their neighbor-appears, their stars begin to slip out of alignment. The second feature-length film from the young and talented YAMAMOTO Akira, whose Tokyo University of the Arts graduate school graduation film “Speak Low” (2018) was screened at the Marseille International Film Festival and the Jeonju International Film Festival. A story with an occasionally drastic narrative fully expressed through the remarkable performances of the actors. HASHIMOTO Ai's tum as Sanae in particular is unforgettable, as Sanae seeks to discover what love means to her and tries to push it to the limit. Premiered in the New Currents section of the 28th Busan International Film Festival.

©️2024 Nekojarashi/BittersEnd/Hitsukisha

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