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Winners of SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL 2023 announced!!

Skip City Winners 2023
Syrian film When the Seedlings Grow (Dir. Rêger Azad Kaya) received Grand Prize in the International Competition Alien’s Daydream (Dir. Yoshiki Matsumoto) received both Best Picture in the Japanese Film Competition and SKIP CITY AWARD

The 20th edition of SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL had been physically held from July 15 to July 23 (and virtually from July 22 to July 26), and wrapped at the Closing Ceremony, Sunday July 23. Jury and Audience award winners were announced at the Ceremony.

Skip City logo 2023

For the International Compeition, an Asian Premiere film, When the Seedlings Grow (Syria), directed by Rêger Azad Kaya, received the Grand Prize. I Woke Up with a Dream (Argentina, Uruguay), directed by Pablo Solarz, won the Best Director and Six Weeks (Hungary), directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi received the Special Jury Prize. This year’s jury members were Masao Teshima, President of the Jury and a renowned producer from Asmik Ace, Naomi Akashi, the producer of  (Dir. ) and Patrice Nezan, a French producer, who produced the festival’s 2019 winner The Tower (Dir. Mats Grorud). In addition, Midwives (France), directed by Léa Fehner, was chosen for the Audience Award.

For the Japanese Film Competition, Yoshiki Matsumoto’s feature debut Alien’s Daydream (Japan) received Best Picture (Feature Length) and SKIP CITY AWARD, which is selected from all Japanese films both in the International Competition and the Japanese Film Competition, for production support by the festival, Hunting Results (Japan), directed by Minami Ikemoto, won Best Picture (Short Length). This year, Special Mention was exceptionally added for the Short Length section.  (Japan), directed by , scooped this Special Mention. The jury members were led by a director , whose  marked a big success in box office in France this year, , an actress from the 2018 festival’s Japanese Film Competition winner , and , a film critic for The Japan Times. Variety’s Japan Correspondent, and the Japanese film advisor for the Udine Far East Film Festival. The Audience Award (Feature Length) went to  (Japan), directed by , and the Audience Award (Short Length) was given to Don’t Go (Japan), directed by . All Japanese film winners had their world premieres at the festival.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

Panagiotis (Panos) Kotzathanasis is a film critic and reviewer, specialized in Asian Cinema. He is the owner and administrator of Asian Movie Pulse, one of the biggest portals dealing with Asian cinema. He is a frequent writer in Hancinema, Taste of Cinema, and his texts can be found in a number of other publications including SIRP in Estonia, Film.sk in Slovakia, Asian Dialogue in the UK, Cinefil in Japan and Filmbuff in India.

Since 2019, he cooperates with Thessaloniki Cinematheque in Greece, curating various tributes to Asian cinema. He has participated, with video recordings and text, on a number of Asian movie releases, for Spectrum, Dekanalog and Error 4444. He has taken part as an expert on the Erasmus+ program, “Asian Cinema Education”, on the Asian Cinema Education International Journalism and Film Criticism Course.

Apart from a member of FIPRESCI and the Greek Cinema Critics Association, he is also a member of NETPAC, the Hellenic Film Academy and the Online Film Critics Association.

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