logo
Japan's Seto wins International Critics Award at Cannes

Japan's Seto wins International Critics Award at Cannes

Japan Times25-05-2025

Japanese director Momoko Seto's animated film "Dandelion's Odyssey" won the International Federation of Film Critics' award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on Saturday.
In the French-Belgian production, Seto presents the story of dandelion seeds that travel the universe after surviving a nuclear explosion. The dialogue-free film was the closing work of the Critics' Week, held in parallel with the film festival.
"We chose this film for the great editing and the use of particular techniques of image that combine classic and modern animation forms," said the federation, known as Fipresci. The federation also awarded two other films.
Meanwhile, this year's Palme d'Or went to Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi's "Simple Accident." Director Chie Hayakawa's "Renoir," the only Japanese nominee, missed out on the top prize.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Swiatek and Sabalenka set up French Open semifinal as Alcaraz sweeps through
Swiatek and Sabalenka set up French Open semifinal as Alcaraz sweeps through

Japan Times

time3 hours ago

  • Japan Times

Swiatek and Sabalenka set up French Open semifinal as Alcaraz sweeps through

Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek set up a blockbuster French Open semifinal clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday, as reigning men's holder Carlos Alcaraz powered his way into the last four. Alcaraz blew away American 12th seed Tommy Paul for the loss of just five games in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Spaniard needed just one hour and 34 minutes to dismantle Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 and set up a last-four meeting with Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. "I'm sorry you wanted to watch more tennis, I had to do my work," Alcaraz told the crowd. "It was one of those matches where I could close my eyes and everything went in. It was like my feeling today was unbelievable." Earlier, Swiatek, the fifth seed, got past Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5, after top women's seed Sabalenka won a tense quarterfinal against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. World number five Swiatek has been struggling for her best form and has not reached a final since winning the French Open title last year. But she gave 13th seed Svitolina little opportunity on her favored clay surface, breaking in the fourth game to ease through the first set in windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier. The pair exchanged consecutive breaks of serve early in the second set, before Swiatek forced the breakthrough at 5-5 with a powerful forehand down the line. She then sealed the win with back-to-back aces. "Even though the first set, the score looks pretty straightforward, it wasn't," said Swiatek. "I had to fight for every point." Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman to win four straight Roland Garros crowns since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago. "(Aryna) has been having a great season so I'm not going to lie, it is going to be a tough match. But I'm happy for the challenge," said Swiatek, after reeling off her 26th win in a row at the French Open. Both players have shared the number one ranking between them since April 2022. Sabalenka ended Swiatek's 11-month reign as world number one last October but the Pole leads 8-4 in their previous meetings. Earlier, reigning U.S. Open champion Sabalenka avenged her recent loss to Zheng in Rome. "The last tournament I was pretty exhausted," said Sabalenka. "Today I was more fresh, I was ready to battle." Sabalenka once again got the upper hand over Zheng, who had been on a winning streak of 10 matches on the Paris clay after her run to Olympic gold last year. Zheng broke and led 4-2 in the first set. But numerous unforced errors — 31 in total — allowed the Belarusian to come back. "I gave her the chance, so easy," said Zheng, who has lost seven times in eight meetings with Sabalenka, including in last year's Australian Open final. Madrid Open champion Sabalenka feels she is ready to go all the way in Paris, where her previous best was the semifinals two years ago. "It's high-level matches. I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," said Sabalenka. Alcaraz, 22, dispatched former world number nine Paul after Musetti had earlier seen off Paul's 15th seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. The second seed hit 40 winners and made just 22 unforced errors against Paul, who he also beat on his way to silver at the Paris Olympics last year. Eighth seed Musetti, 23, took over two hours 45 minutes to get past Tiafoe and qualify for his second Grand Slam semifinal, after Wimbledon last year. Musetti's serve proved to be a major weapon on the day as he fired down eight aces with an 81% success rate on his first serve. He also saved two of the three break points engineered by Tiafoe, who had 51 unforced errors to the Italian's 32. It will be the third time Alcaraz and Musetti meet this clay-court season. Alcaraz has dominated that series — beating the Italian in the final in Monte Carlo before also stopping him in the last four on his way to the Rome title.

Fuji TV third-party panel: Will no longer communicate with ex-TV star's side
Fuji TV third-party panel: Will no longer communicate with ex-TV star's side

NHK

time16 hours ago

  • NHK

Fuji TV third-party panel: Will no longer communicate with ex-TV star's side

A third-party panel set up by Fuji Television and its parent company says it will refrain from communicating with lawyers representing former TV personality Nakai Masahiro in the alleged sexual violence case, citing concerns over secondary damage to the victim. The panel said on Tuesday that it is also refusing again the lawyers' request to disclose evidence it had used to determine that Nakai had committed sexual violence against a former Fuji TV announcer. The panel went on to say that the views of both sides are far apart, adding that its members have found it difficult to bridge the gap. In a report released late March, the panel determined that the woman was subjected to sexual violence by Nakai while engaging in activities related to her work. Their finding was based on the definition of sexual violence by the World Health Organization. In mid-May, Nakai's lawyers requested that relevant evidence be disclosed. But the panel refused, arguing that the fact-finding process was appropriate and that it was under a confidentiality obligation to Fuji Television. On Friday, Nakai's legal team once again demanded that the panel disclose the evidence and provide an explanation, but were turned down in writing on Tuesday. Nakai was a member of the disbanded pop idol group SMAP. He became popular as a TV emcee and actor. He retired from show business in January, after a weekly magazine reported the scandal in December.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store