“Parallel World (平行世界)”, a Taiwanese documentary directed by Hsiao Mei-ling (蕭美玲), won the Directors Guild of Japan Award at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF). The ceremony was held in the Yamagata Citizens’ Hall on Oct. 11.
YIDFF 2023 managed to attract global attention, with 1,132 films from 112 countries and regions competing in the International Competition section. On the other hand, there are 1,002 films from 67 countries and regions vying for the prize in the New Asian Currents section. Among them, Hsiao’s documentary stood out and won the Directors Guild of Japan Award.
Hsiao won a special mention in the New Asian Currents section at the YIDFF with “Somewhere Over the Cloud (雲的那端)” in 2007. “Parallel World”, her new cinematic work, took 12 years of shooting and 3 years of post-production tasks. It documents how the director herself accompanies her daughter, Elodie, who has Asperger’s syndrome, forging a heartfelt parental bond on a journey of self-discovery.
Wang Shu-fang (王淑芳), director of the Taiwan Cultural Center in Tokyo, congratulated Hsiao on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. The Center mentioned that the YIDFF resumed this year after a four-year hiatus. They collaborated with the organizer of YIDFF and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute to stage a special event on Taiwanese films. It is the sole country-themed event in the film festival, they added.
YIDFF is Asia’s first international film festival focused on documentaries, emphasizing independence, humanity, and the discovery of new talents. Encouraging the exploration of style and expression, YIDFF became a pilgrimage for Asian directors, as well as a celebration for worldwide documentary filmmakers.