Al Gore joined jury president Tommy Lee Jones on stage before the screening of 'An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,' the closing film of the festival.

Turkey's Grain won the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) grand prix and $50,000 for Semih Kaplanoglu, who directed, wrote and produced the monochrome, dystopian sci-fi tale of a man's quest to find grain in order to save humankind.


"We were impressed by this film's presentation of myth and reality," explained jury president Tommy Lee Jones, who said the decision to give the award to Grain was unanimous.


"Look, this group of people could find something wrong with all of the 15 films in the competition," said Jones in his closing remarks. "But film festivals at their best are meant to free filmmakers from strict commercial demands. We demand no car crashes, no pistols pointed into the lens ... no damsels in distress, no adolescent superheroes," said Jones, who continued that such elements are not necessarily bad, "just not required."


The festival's best director honor went to Malaysia's Edmund Yeo for Aqerat (We the Dead), a film set against the background of Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar.


"I'm just sweating, not crying," said an emotional Yeo. "We had a crew of just 20, so everyone was multitasking; my line producer was my assistant director and most of the crew appeared as extras. I'm 33 and I was probably the oldest person on the crew. And we shot in the monsoon in 12 days."


China's The Looming Storm won the best artistic contribution award for first-time director Dong Yue, as well as Duan Yihong for best actor, after what presenter Chinese actress and jury member Zhao Wei said was a unanimous jury decision.


Crater won the special jury prize and $20,000 for Italy's Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino, while Tremble All You Want, directed, and adapted from a novel, by Akiko Ohku, won the audience award and $10,000.


The best actress award went to Adleline D'Hermy for her performance in France's Maryline and Akio Fujimoto's Passage of Life, a Japan-Cambodia co-production, won the Asia Future Award.


Finnish writer and producer Jani Poso's Euthanizer won the best screenplay award and $5,000 prize from cable network Wowow.


Jones welcomed his former Harvard room mate Al Gore to the stage for the closing film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, saying, “We've only been friends for about 53 years. And he's a prize-winning filmmaker.”


"Thank for this wonderful film festival and for reuniting me with my old friend," said the former U.S. vice president. "I hope you will enjoy the film, but also see it as a challenge to become part of the solution to the climate crisis."