4th Student Newspaper Film Awards

TOP CONNECT Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masaaki Uchida; hereinafter referred to as TOP CONNECT) held the "4th Student Newspaper Film Awards" presentation ceremony on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel B2 Ballroom (part 2 of the "Student Newspaper, Junior and Senior High School Newspaper, and Junior and Senior High School Newspaper Special Edition eSports Special Publication Launch Party") with the aim of revitalizing the film industry in response to young people's disinterest in movie theaters and the decline in movie theater attendance due to the COVID-4 pandemic.

<About the 4rd Student Newspaper Film Awards>

A total of 200 university students voted for Japanese and foreign films that were over 60 minutes long and premiered in the Tokyo area for a paid theatrical release between January 1st and June 30th, 2024, and were shown consecutively for at least two weeks in the same theater. Six awards were awarded to the top three Japanese films selected from 10 films, and the top two foreign films selected from five 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 was 3 million yen (1 million yen for each winning film).

<Nominated Japanese films>

■Kingdom: The Return of the Great General
■ Last Mile
Arrogance and kindness
Six lying college students
■ Identity
■Doctor X the Movie
Cells at Work
■Oshi no Ko -The Final Act-
■Saint Young Men THE MOVIE: Holy Men vs. the Devil Army
■ Grand Maison Paris

*Listed in order of release date.

<Nominated Japanese films>

■Deadpool & Wolverine
■Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
■ Joker: Folie à Deux
Venom: The Last Dance
Les Miserables Digitally Remastered/Remixed

*Listed in order of release date.

<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

<4rd Student Newspaper Film Awards Winners and Their Winners>

■Japanese films

Thoughts on receiving the award

■ Sawa Nimura
I am very happy that "The Last Mile" was selected as the grand prize winner,
I am so surprised and happy to receive the Best Actress award. Thank you so much.
There are a lot of great actors in this movie
I am honored to have been able to work hard in this wonderful team.
I am very happy to think that the students were able to gain something from this film.
I will continue to work hard to create works that will stay in everyone's hearts. Thank you very much!

Thoughts on receiving the award

■ Mr. Yuichi Tokunaga
Thank you for the Screenplay Award. I wrote the script hoping to create a film that would make people laugh, cry, and learn! It would be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders. I am truly honored that it has been seen by a wide range of people, from young children to the elderly, and that has been my hope, if not more.
One result of this is that we received a student-selected film award, which gave us confidence. We hope to continue creating entertaining works that many people will enjoy.
I'm really thankful to you!

■ Western films

Grand Prize: Les Miserables Digital Remaster/Remix

Runner-up: Joker: Folie à Deux

The 5th Student Newspaper Film Awards is scheduled to be held on Monday, October 27, 2025.