Milcho Manchevski’s “Sister Brother Manhole Cover” won the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which held its closing ceremony on Wednesday. The award carries a prize of JPY3 million, or about $19,000.
The film follows Viktor and Malina, siblings who make a living stealing manhole covers and copper busts from the streets of Skopje. After a stolen bronze bust of a national hero lands on Viktor’s foot, the pair descend into the depths of North Macedonia’s capital. The co-production involves North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Italy and the U.K., and is Manchevski’s first fiction feature since “Kaymak.”
Jury president Rolf de Heer said the film stood out for its humanity and compassion toward its characters, as well as for combining emotional weight with a playful tone. Manchevski had already left Tokyo, so producer Jane Kortoshev and cast members Sara Klimoska and Filip Trajković accepted the award. In a video message, the director described the film as a story about unusual families and economic inequality, focused on people rather than messages.
The Special Jury Prize went to Sun Xun’s Singaporean animated feature “Magic Atlas,” which took about a decade to make. The film follows an orphan who inherits a magician’s book and uses it to recover memories buried by an authoritarian empire. Lisandro Alonso won Best Director for “Double Freedom,” while Hu Ling received Best Actress for “The Night That Binds Us” and Narita Ryo won Best Actor for “Two Cigarettes, Three Nights.”
Jelena Maksimović’s “Until the Day Ends” received the Best Artistic Contribution award, and Teodora Ana Mihai’s “Heysel 85” won the audience award. The festival also presented prizes across its Asian Future, Nippon Cinema Now and Asian Students’ Film Conference sections, alongside awards for ethical filmmaking and cinema leadership.
The festival ran from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4. Its closing-night screening was Yeon Sang-ho’s Korean zombie thriller “Colony,” which is set in a high-rise sealed off after a bioterror attack. The Tokyo International Film Festival will hold its 40th edition next year.
Sources: Variety.