1 Nov - Malaysian director Sam Quah has been awarded Best New Director at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival. The filmmaker was honoured with the title by the Golden Crane Award as part of the festival's China Film Week, which was presented on 29 October. He won for his directorial effort, "A Place Called Silence". Thanking the Golden Crane Award for giving him the honour, Sam hopes that he can shoot every subsequent movie with the attitude of a new director, keep his original aspirations in mind, and persist in the film industry to make good movies for the audience.
He also thanked girlfriend and lead actress Janine Chang, saying, "It is great to have you." Meanwhile, Janine also won Best Actress for the movie, and expressed in her speech, "It's a film about school bullying, which is a problem that occurs globally. I hope this film will draw attention to such social issues."