“SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL 2023” was held from July 15 (Sat.) to 23 (Sun.), and at the closing ceremony on July 23, the winning films from each competition were announced.
The festival, now in its 20th year, aims to discover new talent for the next generation as a “gateway to success for young visual creators. The “Competition,” the core of the festival, consists of the International Competition and the Domestic Competition. The International Competition is for feature-length films from around the world, while the Domestic Competition, which consists of two sections, Feature Films and Short Films, carefully selects and screens films by young directors from Japan.
In the domestic competition, “Hunting Results” by Yomi Ikemoto was selected for the Best Short Film Award from among the eight short films, and “Alien’s Daydream” by Yoshiki Matsumoto was selected for the Best Feature Film Award from among the six feature films. “Alien’s Daydream” also received the SKIP CITY AWARD, which is given to a director whose work has potential for feature film production in the future, from among the domestic films screened in both the International and Domestic Competitions.
In the International Competition, the Syrian film “When the Seedlings Grow,” directed by Rêger Azad KAYA and shot in the Rojava region of Kurdistan in northern Syria, won the Grand Prix (Best Film Award) out of 10 nominated films.
