Sunday, January 13, 2008

Suo Wins Kinma Junpo; 'Tokyo Tower' Leads Nippon Awards Nominations

Courtroom drama I Just Didn't Do it, poised for more wins.
The Japanese magazine Kinema Junpo has named its 2007 best picture. I Just Didn’t Do It (Soredemo boku wa yattenai) is a courtroom drama by Masayuki Suo, known for the light-hearted Shall We Dance. The award was presented in a ceremony this week.

The drama is about a young man falsely accused of molesting a high-school girl on a train. He is arrested and charged, and goes through endless court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.

Suo also won the Kinema Junpo top director prize, and I Just Didn’t Do It was Japan’s submission for Best Foreign Film in this year’s Academy Award Competition.

Kinema Junpo is the oldest film magazine in Japan and it’s award is considered one of the most prestigious, according to Variety.

Nominees for the Nippon Academy Association’s Best Film Awards were announced last
onth and will be presented Feb. 15. The Nippon is Japan’s version of Hollywood’s Academy Award’s.

Best picture nominees are: I Just Didn’t Do It (11 nominations); Tokyo Tower, Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (13 nominations); Always 2 (12 nominations) and Kisaragi; and Bizan. (I’m having trouble finding out much about Kisaragi and Bizan. When I find out more, I’ll report back.)