Winners showcase

Want to know how the winners felt after the awards? Lets find out!

Director Sergey Dvortsevoy (“TULPAN”)

I was born in Kazakhstan. After I finished aviation school, I worked as a radio operator. One day I came across an ad for a film school where I met many Kazakh actors. Leading actor Askhat Kuchinchirekov is not a professional actor. Leading actress Samal Yeslyamova is a professional stage actress. I will probably shoot my next film in Moscow, but later, I plan to return to Kazakhstan to make movies about Russians living in Kazakhstan. Many children appeared in “TULPAN”, but I am very sorry for the death of one of the boys who drowned while fishing with his father.

Samal Yeslyamova (“TULPAN”)

I’m from Kazakhstan but have never lived in a place where this movie takes place. The environment and climate of the location site was very different from where I grew up so it wasn’t easy, but it certainly was a valuable experience.

Askhat Kuchinchirekov (“TULPAN”)

The most important thing for an actor is to confide in the director; a trust so deep and strong that he can trust his life with him. I did everything the director wanted me to do, which I believe I was able to express on screen.

Director Testu Maeda (“School Days with a Pig”)

Maeda won two awards in the Competition section, but he said, “I was actually going for four awards, just like the film “What the Snow Brings”, in the 18th TIFF (laugh). I guess I have a long way to go...” When asked about the pig in his film, he said, “Birds are easy to take care of, but not pigs! But the small pigs were so charming, they felt like a being of life itself. Although I know they are destined to be slaughtered, I think they are very adorable.”

Director José Antonio Quirós (“Ashes from the Sky”)

It’s a contradiction that although we love nature, we can’t live without technology. Nature is being sacrificed in the name of civilization and it’s time for us to think about how we’re going to change this. It is vital that we look for a compromise. That is the theme of my movie.

Jon Voight, President of the Jury

Each of us contributed to the decision of the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix Award. Something was said early on in our discussions. We said it’s not about giving everybody an award; it’s about being true to what we really think is appropriate for the ‘real’ award. “TULPAN” was a unanimous decision. And that really says a lot because we had other films that we
were really impressed with. But there was something so special about this film. Then, when we came to the idea of the director, we said, well, the director we feel is the most impressive should be “TULPAN”. So, that’s how we arrived at our decision. It was a matter of being honest about it.