TOKYO — The China Film Week held at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival concluded with the Golden Crane Awards ceremony on Oct 28.

Chinese and Japanese guests and others from the film industry at the event gave high praise to the development and influence of Chinese films in recent years and expressed their anticipation for future cooperation between the two counties' film industries.

As part of the festival, the China Film Week was held in Tokyo from Oct 21 to 28. More than 10 outstanding Chinese films were screened during the event, covering a variety of themes, including family, love, fantasy, and history.

The crime thriller Octopus with Broken Arms won the Golden Crane Award for Best Film, while Andrew Lau Wai-Keung snatched the Best Director award for his film The Dumpling Queen. Actor Zhang Yixing and actress Zeng Mengxue won the Best Actor and Actress awards for their performances in Mumu and Love List, respectively.

Chinese ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao said at the closing ceremony that films play an important role in enhancing mutual understanding between the people of both countries and in fostering exchanges and reconciliation, adding that "the efforts made by filmmakers from both countries for this purpose over the years are truly admirable".

Japanese director Yojiro Takita says that the rapid development of Chinese cinema has attracted an increasing number of talented individuals.

He expresses hope that filmmakers from Japan and China will maintain close exchanges and establish a mechanism for cross-border collaboration and mutual sharing.

Mitsuko Watanabe, vice-president of the Japan-China Film Festival Executive Committee, says Chinese films have made amazing progress in "touching people's hearts", and she looks forward to filmmakers from both countries collaborating with open minds to jointly create works that play to their respective strengths.

The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival runs from Oct 27 to Nov 5.

Xinhua