'Daun di Atas Bantal' honored at Tokyo film festival

JAKARTA (JP): Garin Nugroho's Daun di Atas Bantal (Leaf on a Pillow) has been awarded a special prize by the Tokyo International Film Festival 1998 jury and is ready for showing in a number of art-film cinemas in Japan.

The festival, from Oct. 31 through Nov. 8, presented 17 films selected from hundreds of films from 20 countries. Apart from Indonesia, other Asian participants were Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan and Turkey, as well as participants from Europe and the United States.

The festival's main prize went to Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar for his film Open Your Eyes, which had won seven best film awards in his country in 1996. British director Guy Ritchie received the best director accolade for his film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

In the full competition category, the festival also conferred best artistic contribution to director Francois Girard from Canada for his film The Red Violin and Chris Eyre from the U.S. for Smoke Signal.

Maki Miyamoto of Japan received the best actress award for her performance in Geisha House. The American film Apt Pupil won Brad Renfro the best actor award.

From his hotel room in Tokyo, Garin said in a statement to Antara on Monday: "The competition at this festival was very keen."

Among the participants were Bryan Singer of the U.S., who won two Oscar categories with Usual Suspect, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan of Turkey, director of The Small Town, winner of an award at the Calligary Berlin Film Festival, and who also competed at the Cannes International Film Festival, France.

Daun di Atas Bantal was the second Indonesian film entered in the festival's full competition. The first was Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (And the Moon Dances), also by Garin Nugroho (1995/1996). Previously, two Indonesian films, Tjoet Njak Dhien by Eros Sugeng Djarot and Surat untuk Bidadari (A Letter for the Angel) by Garin entered the competition for young filmmakers.

Daun di Atas Bantal, produced and starred by Christine Hakim, is a story about street children. It has been shown for over one month in high-category cinemas in Jakarta.

Garin said that, commercially speaking, the film showed signs of success. During its making, mostly in Yogyakarta, the film had to be shot twice due to camera damage. They were able to continue after the National Film Assessment Board provided a Rp 250 million loan.

The film will be circulated in Japan by Iwanami Hall. It plans to show the film in Tokyo cinemas in July 1999.

Garin said Iwanami Hall is a pioneer in art cinemas. It enjoys a high reputation because it chooses quality films and has a select audience.

"Iwanami Hall's characteristic is to always show a film for more than one month," Garin added.

After the Tokyo International Film Festival, Garin will send Daun di Atas Bantal to the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, in December 1998, and the Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands in January 1999, as well as other international festivals.

Also a winner in the Tokyo festival was Lee Kwang-mo of South Korea, with his film Spring in My Hometown, who was awarded the gold award for the category of young director (under 35 years old). The silver award was given to Nuri Bilge Ceylan of Turkey for The Small Town.

Iranian director Abolfazl Jalili with Dance of Dust was awarded in the Asia special category. Also in this category, a special award went to Kiyoshi Kurosawa for Qualified to Live and Aktan Abdikalikov for The Adopted Son.

The Tokyo International Film Festival 1998 was chaired by producer/director Jeremy Thomas, known for The Last Emperor (winner of nine Oscars in 1987), Stealing Beauty (1986) and Little Buddha (1993).

Other members of the festival were film critic Noboru Akiyama of Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun and three others from Africa, Bosnia and China.

Among the Hollywood stars who attended the festival's opening were Bruce Willis and Liv Tyler. A special screening during the festival presented Joe Black, a new Hollywood film by Martin Brest, which stars Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. The Festival also showed a number of British films from the 1930s until today.

In special remembrance of Japan's late film emperor, Akira Kurosawa, the festival presented his 30 works.