Milcho Manchevski’s ‘Sister Brother Manhole Cover’ Takes Tokyo Film Festival Grand Prix

Sister Brother Manhole Cover, directed by Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski, won the Grand Prix at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. The festival ended in rain in the Japanese capital, matching the weather at its opening, after a 10-day program that drew more than 69,000 people to screenings.

The winning film explores love between siblings and maternal love among people living on society’s margins. It is Manchevski’s first feature since Kaymak, which competed at the Tokyo festival in 2022. The Grand Prix carries the Governor of Tokyo Award, with a cash prize of 3 million yen, or $19,000.

Lead actors Sara Klimoska and Filip Trajkovikj attended the ceremony, along with producer Kortoshev, who collected the prize on Manchevski’s behalf. The director had already departed Tokyo, but sent a video message. The award put his latest feature at the top of the festival’s competition, four years after Kaymak’s appearance in the same section.

Argentina’s Lisandro Alonso received the best director award for Double Freedom. The special jury prize went to Sun Xun’s Magic Atlas, a production that took more than a decade to finish. Its inclusion in the main competition marked a first for Tokyo, which had never previously selected an animated film for that section.

Hu Ling was named best actress for The Night That Binds Us, a co-production between France and Hong Kong. Narita Ryo won best actor for Two Cigarettes, Three Nights, providing Japan’s only award. Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer headed the jury, joined by producers Alex Lo and Oh Jungwan, actor Watanabe Makiko and colorist Yov Moor.

The audience award went to director Teodora Ana Mihai’s Heysel 85. The film is set against the Heysel Stadium disaster during the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus, in which 39 supporters were killed.

In Asian Future, the competition for emerging filmmakers from the region, Afghan director Tareq Daoud won for Serife Tavsan. The award includes a cash payment of 1 million yen, equivalent to $6,325.

Across its 10 days, the festival presented 204 films at screenings in the Hibiya-Marunouchi-Yurakucho-Ginza area. Screening attendance was slightly higher than at the previous year’s edition.