The weeklong Tokyo International Film Festival closed with the top prize awarded to The Band's Visit--a heartwarming human comedy of awkward relationships between Egyptians and Israelis.
"Every time you get something big, your first thoughts are really small. You think, 'I should go this way or that way'...Only after, do you [feel], 'Ah it's really good,'" director Eran Kolirin said at a press conference, recalling his thoughts when he stood on the stage as his film was chosen for the Sakura Grand Prix at the closing ceremony.
Sasson Gabai, the lead actor in the film, said he was also surprised.
"When they announced the other winners, I said, 'Ah, not this prize, not this prize...' Gabai said. "I then thought I shouldn't expect that much and I lost hope toward the end."
An Egyptian police band led by Tewfiq (Gabai) is invited to perform at an Arab Cultural Center in Israel. Because of inadequate English proficiency, they get lost and wind up staying overnight at an Israeli home. The band's blue uniforms with peaked hats comically represent the nervousness of the Egyptians, while the Israelis' confusion over how to deal with the serious-looking Egyptians is realistically portrayed, evoking laughter.
The film, which will open in December, was jointly made by people of different ethnicities living in the region.
During the press briefing, the shy and modest Kolirin often got help from Gabai when the director was baffled by questions from reporters. When one asked the director, "Why do you think people like this film so much?" Gabai answered instead.
"I think it's the need for comfort and compassion...They [characters in the film] don't have the barriers, they don't have the citizenship, they don't have the countries behind them, the professions, their own local environment. Their situation brings them together, and once they succeed in trying, at least, to interact with each other...anybody who sees it will [have] compassionate feelings," he said.
Chinese film The Western Trunk Line, directed by Li Jixian, took home the Special Jury Prize. The Award for Best Director was given to Peter Howitt of Dangerous Parking, in which he also was the main character, Noah, a desperate alcoholic and drug addict.
The Award for Best Actor went to teenager Damian Ul in the Polish film Trick, while Shefali Shah in Gandhi My Father got the best actress prize. The Award for Best Artistic Contribution went to The Waltz, directed by Italian Salvatore Maira.
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Mideast reality
This year's Tokyo International Film Festival presented a greater variety of Middle Eastern films, thanks to the expansion of the selections with the "Winds of Asia--Middle East" division. Crossing the Dust, by Iraqi Kurdish director Shawkat Amin Korki, is one such movie that vividly depicts the lives of Arabs and Kurds after the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
"I wanted viewers to think about how people should live their lives," the director said during his visit to Tokyo for the festival. "Long-lasting conflicts and wars tend to take humanity away, but I wanted to convey the idea that people are human beings after all."
Two Kurdish soldiers find a lost Arab boy named Saddam while they are transporting food, and try to locate his parents. The film realistically depicts the situation in the region, including how U.S. soldiers look to ordinary people from a Kurdish point of view, allowing us to see something we can't see from media coverage.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20071102TDY14003.htm
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