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The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan (38°15′N 140°20′E / 38.250°N 140.333°E / 38.250; 140.333 ).

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. Since 2001, the competition includes films shot in DV. In 1991, a Young Asian Talents section was established.

Awards

A number of prizes are awarded at the festival, including:

• For films in the international competition:
  • Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)
  • Mayor's Prize (Prize of Excellence)
  • Special Jury Prize
  • Runner-up Prize
• For films in the regional competition:
  • 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)	Johan van der Keuken Jorge Ulla, & Néstor Almendros Pierre Sauvage
Special Jury Prize	Time Has No Name (Tiden har inget namn)	Stefan Jarl
Encouragement Prize	Over the Threshold	Christine Lloyd-Fitt, & Yoshi Tezuka
Citizens' Prize	Weapons of the Spirit (Les Armes de l'esprit)	Pierre Sauvage

1991 YIDFF

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)	Barbara Kopple Herz Frank, & Vladimir Eisner
Special Jury Prize	Canticle of the Stones (Le Cantique des pierres)	Michel Khleifi
Encouragement Prize	Children of Mini-Japan (Kutty Japanin Kuzhandaigal)	Chalam Bennurkar
Citizens' Prize	Children of Mini-Japan (Kutty Japanin Kuzhandaigal)	Chalam Bennurkar

1993 YIDFF

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)	Black Harvest	Robin Anderson Bob Connolly
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Zoo	Frederick Wiseman
Runner-up Prize	Living on the River Agano (Agano ni ikiru) Loss Is to Be Expected (Mit Verlust ist zu rechnen)	Makoto Satō Ulrich Seidl
Special Jury Prize	Elegy from Russia (Le Cantique des pierres)	Aleksandr Sokurov
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	My Time with the Red Guards	Wu Wenguang
Citizens' Prize	In the Name of God (Raam Ke Naam)	Anand Patwardhan

1995 YIDFF

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)	Choice and Destiny (Ha-Behirah V'Hagoral)	Tsipi Reibenbach
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Metal and Melancholy (Metaal en melancholie)	Heddy Honigmann
Runner-up Prize	Screenplay: The Times (Drehbuch - Die Zeiten) Picture of Light	Barbara Junge, & Winfried Junge Peter Mettler
Special Jury Prize	Father, Son, and Holy War (Pitra, Putra Aur Dharamyuddha)	Anand Patwardhan
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	The Murmuring (Najeun moksori)	Byun Young-Joo
Citizens' Prize	Screenplay: The Times (Drehbuch - Die Zeiten)	Barbara Junge, & Winfried Junge
FIPRESCI Award	The Square (Guang Chang) Last Farewell USSR	Duan Jinchuan, & Zhang Yuan Oleksandr Rodnyansky
FIPRESCI Special Mention	Embracing (Ni tsutsumarete)	Naomi Kawase
We Love Cinema Award	Last Farewell USSR Scenes of Violence (Katatsumori)	Oleksandr Rodnyansky Naomi Kawase

1997 YIDFF

The fifth festival edition was held 6–13 October 1997. In all competitions and programs 187 films were shown, and attendance was around 23,000.

Award	Film	Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)	Fragments: Jerusalem (Shivrei T'munot Yerushalayim)	Ron Havilio
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Africa, How Are You with Pain? (Afriques: Comment ça va avec la douleur?)	Raymond Depardon
Runner-up Prize	Paper Heads (Papierove hlavy) Tu as crié: Let me go	Dušan Hanák Anne Claire Poirier
Special Jury Prize	La Comédie-Française ou l'amour joué?	Frederick Wiseman
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	Out of Phoenix Bridge (Hui dao feng huang qiao)	Li Hong
Citizens' Prize	Private Wars	Nick Deocampo
FIPRESCI Award	Homesick Eyes (Wang hsiang)	Hsu Hsiao-ming
FIPRESCI Special Mention	London Brief	Jon Jost
We Love Cinema Award	Out of Phoenix Bridge (Hui dao feng huang qiao) Neon Goddesses	Li Hong Yu Lik-wai

1999 YIDFF

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)	German Kral
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Belfast, Maine	Frederick Wiseman
Runner-up Prize	Sweep It Up, Swig It Down (Kehrein, kehraus) Happy Birthday, Mr. Mograbi (Yom Huledet Same'ach Mar Mograbi)	Gerd Kroske Avi Mograbi
Special Jury Prize	The Underground Orchestra (Het Ondergrondse orkest)	Heddy Honigmann
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	Swimming on the Highway (Hui dao feng huang qiao)	Wu Yao-tung
Citizens' Prize	Living Amongst Lions (Leve blant løver)	Sigve Endresen
FIPRESCI Award	Divorce Iranian Style	Kim Longinotto Ziba Mir-Hosseini
FIPRESCI Special Mention	The New God (Atarashî kamisama)	Yutaka Tsuchiya
NETPAC Award	Shiro the White	Katsuyuki Hirano
NETPAC Special Mention	Annyong-Kimchi I Love (080)	Tetsuaki Matsue Yang Li-chou

2001 YIDFF

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 Land of the Wandering Souls (La Terre des âmes errantes)	Rithy Panh
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	In Vanda’s Room (No Quarto da Vanda)	Pedro Costa
Runner-up Prize	Mysterious Object at Noon (Dokfa nai meuman) 6 Easy Pieces	Apichatpong Weerasethakul Jon Jost
Special Jury Prize	A2	Tatsuya Mori
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	Soshin: In Your Dreams	Melissa Kyu-Jung Lee
Citizens' Prize	A2	Tatsuya Mori
FIPRESCI Award	In Vanda’s Room (No Quarto da Vanda) My Friend Su	Pedro Costa Neeraj Bhasin
NETPAC Award	My Migrant Soul	Yasmine Kabir
NETPAC Special Mention	Pansy & Ivy Mysterious Object at Noon (Dokfa nai meuman)	Kye Un-kyoung Apichatpong Weerasethakul

2003 YIDFF

The eighth festival edition was held 10–16 October 2003. In total 177 films were shown, and attendance was around 19,000.

Award	Film	Director
Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize (The Grand Prize)	Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks	Wang Bing
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Stevie	Steve James
Runner-up Prize	Gift of Life S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (S-21, la machine de mort Khmère rouge)	Wu Yii-feng Rithy Panh
Special Jury Prize	Purity (Tehora)	Anat Zuria
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	Wellspring	Qing Sha
Citizens' Prize	Purity (Tehora)	Anat Zuria
FIPRESCI Award	Three-Five People	Li Lin
FIPRESCI Award Special Mention	A Short Journey	Tanon Sattarujawong

2005 YIDFF

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	Michel Khleifi Eyal Sivan
Runner-up Prize	Foreland (Voorland) About a Farm (Hiljainen tila)	Albert Elings, Eugenie Jansen Mervi Junkkonen
Special Jury Prize	Darwin's Nightmare	Hubert Sauper
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	The Cheese and the Worms (Chizu to ujimushi)	Haruyo Kato
Citizens' Prize	In the Shadow of the Palms	Wayne Coles-Janess
FIPRESCI Award	The Cheese and the Worms (Chizu to ujimushi)	Haruyo Kato
Community Cinema Award	Darwin's Nightmare	Hubert Sauper

2007 YIDFF

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)	Fengming, a Chinese Memoir (He Fengming)	Wang Bing
Mayor's Prize (Award of Excellence)	Encounters (Encontros)	Pierre-Marie Goulet
Runner-up Prize	Potosi: The Journey (Potosi, le temps du voyage) M	Ron Havilio Nicolás Prividera
Special Jury Prize	Tarachime birth/mother (Tarachime)	Naomi Kawase
Shinsuke Ogawa Award	Bingai	Feng Yan
Citizens' Prize	Mr. Pilipenko and His Submarine (Herr Pilipenko und sein U-Boot) Back Drop Kurdistan	René Harder, & Jan Hinrik Drevs Masaru Nomoto
Community Cinema Award	Bingai	Feng Yan

2009 YIDFF

October 8–15, 2009

2011 YIDFF

October 6–13, 2011

2013 YIDFF

October 10–17, 2013

2015 YIDFF

October 8–15, 2015

2017 YIDFF

October 5–12, 2017

References

1. "YIDFF 2007 Information". Yamagata IDFF. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
2. Lamant, Ludovic. "Words from a festival programmer". Cahiers du cinéma (May 2008 Special Issue). Cannes: 20. ISSN 0008-011X.
3. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2009". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
4. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2011". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
5. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2013". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
6. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2013". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
7. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2017". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 2019-08-21.

External links

• Yamagata IDFF official website

• Japanese film awards
• Documentary film festivals in Japan
• Tourist attractions in Yamagata Prefecture
• Film festivals established in 1989
• 1989 establishments in Japan