Director Kobayashi Masahiro (53) has won the grand prix at a major film festival. His innovative movie “Ai no Yokan” (The Rebirth) was awarded the Golden Leopard prize and 90,000 Swiss Francs on Saturday, the last day of the 60th Locarno International Film Festival. Kobayashi took on a leading role in his own film for the first time, playing the father of a girl who is murdered by her elementary school classmate, echoing a real-life incident that took place in Japan. Having lost his own will to live, the father escapes to Hokkaido, only to meet the mother of his daughter’s killer. Apart from an opening interview scene, the movie is completely unscripted. The feature was also awarded the Daniel Schmid Prize and was given a special mention by the International Art & Essay Cinema Confederation and by the Youth Jury. The recognition follows a pattern of acclaim for Kobayashi’s earlier works at European festivals. He has premiered three films at Cannes and won a special mention at Locarno in 2003 for “Amazing Story”. This year’s festival opened in the southern Swiss city last Wednesday with the world premiere of the Japanese anime feature “Vexille” by Sori Fumihiko.
• Defending Japan’s title at this year’s 12th Air Guitar World Championship in Finland will be Ichikawa The Rock. He won his place with a rendition of Mr. Big’s 1991 hit “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy” during the weekend’s Summer Sonic festival in Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture. Coming in third was green-suited kids’ character Gachapin rocking out to the B’z song “GiriGiri Chop”. Japan won the title last year when comedian Ochi Yousuke brought home the crown with his energetic take on Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”