Negishi Kichitaro (59) has won the best director award at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festival for the film “Viyon no Tsuma” (Villon’s Wife), distributor Toho Co. announced today. The Film Festival focuses on various kinds of films from all over the world but features few if any produced in Hollywood. The directorial awards marks a second consecutive good showing by Japanese movies at the event – last year, the film “Okuribito” (Departures) won the grand prize. Based on several short stories by the famous Dazai Osamu (1909-1948), “Viyon no Tsuma” was made in commemoration of this year’s 100th anniversary of his birth. With a strong cast led by Matsu Takako and Asano Tadanobu, the movie tells the story of the wife of a novelist who leads a catastrophic life. It is scheduled for release in theaters here on October 10.