2th Student Newspaper Film Awards

TOP CONNECT Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masaaki Uchida; hereinafter referred to as TOP CONNECT) held the "2nd Student Newspaper Film Awards" presentation ceremony on Monday, April 22, 2024, at the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel Ballroom B2 (part 2 of the "Student Newspaper/Junior and Senior High School Newspaper Launch Party") with the aim of revitalizing the film industry in response to the trend of young people turning away from movie theaters and the decline in movie theater attendance due to the COVID-4 pandemic.

<About the 2rd Student Newspaper Film Awards>

A total of 200 university students voted for Japanese feature films of 60 minutes or more that premiered in the Tokyo area for a fee between January 6st and June 31th, 2023, and were shown consecutively for at least two weeks in the same theater. Six awards were awarded to the top three films selected from the 10 films: Best Actor (2 slots), Best Actress (2 slots), Best Young Actor (1 male and 1 female under 25), Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Song. The total prize pool is 3 million yen (1 million yen for each winning film).

<Nominated Works>

■ Exchange fake diary
■Kingdom: Flame of Destiny
■Don't Call It Mystery
■Silent Fleet
■ Analog
■Yutorimasen but what's wrong with that? International
■ Kyrie Song
■Correct desire
Fly Me to Saitama: From Lake Biwa with Love
■If only I could meet you again on that hill where flowers bloom.

*Listed in order of release date.

©2023 "Exchanging Lie Diaries" Production Committee / ©Hara Yasuhisa/Shueisha ©2023 "Kingdom" Film Production Committee / ©Tamura Yumi/Shogakukan ©2023 Fuji Television Network, Shogakukan, TopCoat, Toho, FNS27 Companies / ©Kawaguchi Kaiji/Kodansha ©2023 Amazon Content Services LLC OR ITS AFFILIATES. All Rights Reserved. / ©2023 "Analog" Production Committee ©2023 TN GON Co., Ltd. / ©2023 "What's Wrong with Being a Gentleman?" Production Committee / ©2023 Kyrie Film Band / ©2021 Asai Ryo/Shinchosha ©2023 "Seiyoku" Production Committee / ©2023 "Fly Me to Saitama" Film Production Committee / ©2023 "If I Could Meet You Again on the Hill Where Those Flowers Bloom" Production Committee

<Sponsoring companies>　※ In any order

Earth Chemical / PIP / Tamanoi Vinegar / New Balance / Aderans / Anfa / Sugimoto Meat Industry / Maruhan / Echigo Farm / Mizkan / Kushikatsu Tanaka Holdings / Marukome / J Frontier / Hana Cupid / Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel / Vision Glamping / Skylark Restaurants / MTG Professional / TKP / Bathclin / Miss Paris / Diana / Pro Labo Holdings / Komeda Holdings

<2rd Student Newspaper Film Awards Winners and Their Winners>

Thoughts on receiving the award

■ Mr. Koji Mizukami
I am very honored to have been selected this time.
One of our goals during filming was to have the younger generation watch the film.
Encouraged by this award, I will continue to work hard.

■Haruka Fukuhara
I wanted to make sure that this work reaches the younger generation as well, and as I worked on the film, I hoped that it would be a work that would not forget that these events actually happened and that could be passed on to the next generation.
I am very pleased to have been selected by all of you.
Thank you!

Thoughts on receiving the award

■An
Kingdom was filmed just as the coronavirus pandemic was coming to an end.
I remember feeling happy that various films were starting to move forward at the studios all at once, and that the world was finally coming back to life.
I'm sure all students today are feeling great anxiety at this important time.
Finally, we can all watch movies together and laugh and cry together.
I am truly honored to have been chosen as the Best Actress by all of you who have overcome such great challenges.
Thank you all!

■Ms. Kiyono
I am extremely honored to have been selected as the Best Actress at the Student Newspaper Film Awards. Thank you very much.
Filming Kingdom was like a daily training session, and I was really inspired by it.
This film also allowed me to reaffirm that action is something that is indispensable to me.
I still want to continue taking action, so I'll do my best not to slow down! Thank you!

■Shinsuke Sato
We are extremely pleased and honored to have been selected for the Student Newspaper Film Awards' Runner-Up Prize. The selection criteria of "a film that university students would want to watch again" was one of the goals we had in mind when making this film. We are truly delighted that we have been able to achieve our goal in this way. Thank you very much.

Thoughts on receiving the award

■Masaki Suda
Thank you for choosing the movie "Hyouka."
He also won the Best Actor award, so I'm grateful to have met Sei-kun.
The main character, Kuno Osamu, is also a university student.
It will be interesting to see what he thinks about the applause from his peers.
I love his nonsense.
Of course, his words aren't everything, but his words always accompany me in my thoughts.
Together we will explore a better future.
I had hoped that this film would have that kind of impact on everyone, so I'm so happy that people have said they want to see it again.

■Mr. Kohei Matsushita
We are extremely honored that "Hyouka" has been selected for the Student Newspaper Film Award.
Thank you very much.
I am also grateful for the connections I made with the staff and cast members I met through this project.
I would like to continue to play each role carefully and with care.
We will continue to work hard so that we can continue to meet students through the screen.

■ Ms. Sari Ito
Thank you very much for this award.
To be honest, I never thought for a second that I would receive an award for the film "Hyouka" so I'm rather surprised.
After the main story ended, many people were surprised to see my name in the end credits, and when I appeared in the latter half of the credits, many people said, "I see." At the same time, I was a little worried about whether I should receive an award for appearing in a scene, but I was so grateful and happy to have been chosen, and I will use this as motivation for my future activities and continue to do my best! Thank you very much!

■Nanoka Hara
I am very pleased that "Hyouka" was selected as the runner-up in the Student Newspaper Film Awards, and also received the wonderful Young Actor Award.
I believe I was able to play this role to the fullest thanks to the support of many people, so I cannot thank everyone on the "Hyouka" team enough.
I am very happy to think that Sei-kun's words are reaching people of my generation. Thank you very much.

■ Toshihisa Hagiwara
Thank you for this wonderful award.
I am pleased that students have also submitted their works.
We will continue to work hard to get more people interested.
Thank you all!

■Mr. Hiroaki Matsuyama
Thank you for the Director's Award.
I believe that Sei's words were able to reach the young students who will be the leaders of the future, which is why he was selected for such a wonderful award.
I am truly happy about that.
Thank you all!

The 3rd Student Newspaper Film Awards is scheduled to be held on October 9, 2024.