The 29th Kaneto Shindo Award 2024 ceremony was held on Friday, December 6th.

Palabra Inc. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Shoko Yamagami, President) , a subsidiary of Pole To Win Holdings, Inc. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Teppei Tachibana, President & CEO; Securities Code: 3657), is engaged in the production of Japanese and multilingual subtitles for movies, audio guidance, barrier-free subtitles and audio guidance, and the development and operation of UDCast, an audio guidance application with subtitles. Palabra sponsors the Kaneto Shindo Award and has established the "UDCast Award" since 2019 as a supplementary prize to the Gold Award.
For the Gold Award winning film, Palabra provides barrier-free Japanese subtitling, barrier-free audio guide production, and a complete UDCast installation package.

Event Report

This award, which began in 1996 as the "Best New Director Award," is now in its 29th year. With the regulation that the award must be a live-action feature film released in theaters within three works from the director's debut, 215 works were eligible for selection this year. At the awards ceremony, director Yoko Yamanaka of "The Namibian Desert," which won the Gold Award, director Junichi Yasuda of "Samurai Time Slippers," which won the Silver Award, and producer Tomohiko Seki, who won the Producer Award, appeared on stage. In addition, directors and producers of the works that made it to the final selection also attended, making it a spectacular ceremony that brought together creators who leads the Japanese film industry.

For director Yoko Yamanaka's "The Namibian Desert," distributed by Happinet Phantom Studios, barrier-free Japanese subtitles and barrier-free audio guides were produced by Palabra. The film was compatible with the UDCast app from the day of its release, and subtitled screenings were also held in some theaters. In previous years, if a Gold Award winning film has already been made barrier-free, a barrier-free version of the next film will be produced and made available on UDCast, but this time, at the director's request, the first feature film, "Amico," will be made barrier-free.

The organizers of the event, the Japan Film Makers Association, also announced a new initiative with Netflix. This year's winners of the Kaneto Shindo Award, as well as the final selection of directors and producers, will have the opportunity to submit proposals to Netflix. There is no limit to the number of proposals, and the format of the proposals is also free. Selected works will be produced as Netflix productions and distributed worldwide.

Comments from the winners (excerpts)
■ Gold Award: "The Namibian Desert" by Director Yoko Yamanaka

I am extremely honored and pleased to receive an award selected by producers.

"The Namibian Desert" started when I was working on another project and someone suggested to me, "Why don't you write an original story starring Yumi Kawai?" Since I can't write scripts, being watched in the scriptwriting room is a stressful situation for me, but thanks to the wonderful producer, I was able to relax and write. Also, I'm not fond of the working style where everyone working as one, but I'm really grateful that they gathered such talented staff so we could make it even if we were all separate.

I also really enjoyed working with Palabra on the barrier-free production. I'm happy to be working with them again on "Amico," my first feature film. I'll work harder and do my best. Thank you.

Critique: Director Yamanaka's creativity and artistry exploded in this wonderful film. It was a work that reminded us of the freedom of expression in film. I thought it was a worthy representative film for the year. The selection committee unanimously decided on this film.

■ Silver Award: Junichi Yasuda (director) "Samurai Time Slipper"

I am truly happy to receive this award named after Kaneto Shindo, a great pioneer in the field of independent film.

"Samurai Time Slipper" has come this far thanks to the help of everyone involved in the film industry, including the studios, independent theaters, multiplexes, and customers. I'm grateful that they chose this "fully independent film" in which the director plays more than 11 roles, but I also felt that they were crossing a dangerous bridge with a lot of risk (laugh)!  I will continue to make movies while keeping in mind cost-effectiveness that will prompt people from 5th grade elementary school students to 90 years old will come to the cinema, laugh, have fun, and feel motivated, so I hope you will continue to support us. Thank you very much.

Critique: We made the decision after much thorough discussion. We highly commended Director Yasuda's love and passion for historical dramas, as well as his entertainment power. It was incredible work.

■ Producer Award: Tomohiko Seki, producer of "The Box Man," "Ankoto," and "Young Warrior"

I am extremely happy to receive such a noble award as the Kaneto Shindo Award. Thank you very much.

"The Box Man" was a "phantom film" that was first attempted to be made into a movie in 1997, but was scrapped. In 2013, director Gakuryu Ishii approached me and said, "I have a project I'd like to do with you."  11 years later, we decided to work together with Happinet Phantom Studios. We were also able to have Nagase Masatoshi and Sato Koichi, who were originally scheduled to appear in the film in 1997, appear in the film. As the director said, "film is a collective effort," I believe that "The Box Man" was able to win this award precisely because it was a collective effort.

"Ankoto" is a film based on a real incident. At the time, it was difficult to make it into a film due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was very meaningful to be able to produce it with the influential director Yu Irie and one of the most iconic actors of this year, Yumi Kawai. The film asks many questions of society, so I was glad that so many people were able to see it.

"YWakamusha" was the first release from the new label "New Counter Films" that we launched with Cogitoworks. The label planned, produced, and distributed in-house, and aims to deliver films directly to overseas audiences, as well as domestic audiences. This film was screened at 25 cinemas in Japan and 4 cinemas overseas. As a result of taking action ourselves to create new options, we were able to make new connections in the UK and other countries, which allowed us to screen "The Box Man" overseas.

Receiving this award has given me a lot of confidence. I will continue to make powerful films so that film producers will become a career that young people aspire to. Thank you very much.

What is the "UDCast Award"?

・Producing barrier-free Japanese subtitles
・Producing barrier-free audio guides
・Provision of UDCast app

★Barrier-free Japanese subtitles:

Subtitles are textual explanations of the "sound" in a film. They are primarily used by people who are deaf or have difficulty hearing.

★Barrier-free audio guide:

Narration that verbally explains the information in the film. The main users are people who are blind or have low vision.

★UDCast App:

A free application that allows you to display subtitles and play audio guides for movies and video works. Films that support this function can be used at any theater nationwide. (Devices provided vary depending on the work and theater.)