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It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest- running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia. Its emphasis is on showcasing the best achievements in documentary filmmaking, as well as promoting and popularizing the genre and documentary filmmaking in the region.
The festival was most recently held in October 2007. 1,633 films from 109 countries were submitted, with 238 films screened as part of the international and regional competitions. The festival attracted an audience of around 23,000 people.[1] Since 2001, the competition includes films shot in DV. In 1991, a Young Asian Talents section was established.[2]
Awards
A number of prizes are awarded at the festival, including:
Shinsuke Ogawa Award, for new up-and-coming Asian filmmakers
Overall:
Citizens' Prize, voted for by the festival audiences
Award winners
1989 YIDFF
The first festival edition was held 10–15 October 1989.
Along with the competition screenings, the festival hosted a retrospective of films by Robert and Frances Flaherty and a comprehensive screening of Japanese documentaries from the first half of the 20th century. In total, 80 films were seen by an audience of around 12,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
The Crossroad Street (Skersiela)
Ivars Seleckis
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)
Route One USA
Robert Kramer
Runner-up Prize
The Eye above the Well (Het Oog boven de put) Nobody Listened (Nadie escuchaba) Weapons of the Spirit (Les Armes de l'esprit)
The second festival edition was held 7–13 October 1991.
Along with the competition screenings, the festival hosted a program devoted solely to Asian films, as well as a selection of Japanese films from the post-WWII period. In total, 153 films were shown, which attracted an audience of around 14,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
Stubborn Dreams
Béla Szobolits
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)
Locked-Up Time (Ha-Behirah V'Hagoral)
Sibylle Schönemann
Runner-up Prize
American Dream OnceThere Were Seven Simeons (Reiz dzivoja septini Simeoni)
The third festival edition was held 5–11 October 1993.
Along with the competition screenings, the festival hosted a selection of Asian films, as well as a selection of films focusing on native peoples from North and South America, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. The Shinsuke Ogawa Award for most promising Asian film director in the New Asian Currents program was introduced. In total, 139 films were shown. As an illustrative example, one of the official selections, Le pays des sourds (In the Land of the Deaf) focused primarily on Deaf communities in France; but the documentary also featured a brief segment identifying commonalities in French Sign Language and Japanese Sign Language. The event attracted an audience of around 20,000 people.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
The fourth festival edition was held 3–9 October 1995.
Along with the competition screenings, the festival hosted a retrospective of films from the early days of cinema in honor of the Lumière brothers'cinematograph centennial. In total, 278 films were shown, which attracted an audience of around 21,000 people.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
The sixth festival edition was held 19–25 October 1999.
Apart from the usual international and regional competition programs, a retrospective of films by Joris Ivens was shown.
In total 188 films were shown, and attendance was around 20,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
Images of the Absence (Buenos Aires, meine Geschichte)
The seventh festival edition was held 3–9 October 2001.
Apart from the usual international and regional competition programs, retrospectives of films by Robert Kramer and Fumio Kamei were shown.
In total 183 films were shown, and attendance was around 18,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
The ninth festival edition was held 7–13 October 2005. Apart from the usual regional and international competition programs, the festival screened a selection of films about Zainichi Koreans, as well as screenings of personal documentaries in collaboration with Visions du réel.
In total 145 films were shown, and attendance was around 20,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
Before the Flood (Yan mo)
Yifan Li Yu Yan
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)
Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel
The tenth festival edition was held 4–11 October 2007. Apart from the usual regional and international competition programs, the festival also screened a program devoted to German documentaries focused on German history. In total 238 films were shown, and attendance was around 23,000.
Award
Film
Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
