Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

Infobox Film Festival
name = Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival


caption =
location = Yamagata, Japan
awards =
founded = 1989
host =
number = 238
language = International
website = http://www.yidff.jp/home-e.html/

The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.

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 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. [cite web |url=http://www.yidff.jp/2007/2007-e.html |publisher=Yamagata IDFF |title=YIDFF 2007 Information|date=2007-10-11 |accessdate=2008-03-04 ] Since 2001, the competition includes films shot in DV. In 1991, a Young Asian Talents section was established.cite journal
last = Lamant
first = Ludovic
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Words from a festival programmer
journal = Cahiers du Cinema
volume = Special Issue
issue = May 2008
pages = p. 20
publisher =
location = Cannes
date =
url =
format =
issn = 0008-011x
accessdate = ]

Awards

A number of prizes are awarded at the festival, including:
* For films included in international competition:
** The Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize "(The Grand Prize)"
** The Mayor's Prize "(Award of Excellence)"
** The Special Jury Prize
** The Runner-up Prize
* For films included in regional competition:
** The Shinsuke Ogawa Award, which honors new up-and-coming Asian filmmakers
* Overall:
** The Citizens' Prize, voted for by the festival audience.

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.

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.

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 Kamei Fumio were shown. In total 183 films were shown, and attendance was around 18,000.

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.

External links

* [http://www.yidff.jp/home-e.html "Yamagata IDFF" official website]

References