Blue Ribbon Awards Announces Nominations for 63rd Edition

Presented by film critics and writers in Tokyo, the Blue Ribbon Awards has announced its nominations for the 63rd edition honouring films released in 2020 which has admittedly been a difficult year though as the list of nominees demonstrates nevertheless a strong one for cinema. This year there will be no physical ceremony but the winners are expected to be announced in mid-February.

Best Film

True Mothers – heartbreaking drama from Naomi Kawase in which a young couple adopt a baby only for the birth mother to resurface
The Asadas – latest from Ryota Nakano starring Kazunari Ninomiya inspired by the life of photographer Masashi Asada.
Underdog – boxing drama from Masaharu Take.
Ito – Heisei love story inspired by the classic Miyuki Nakajima song, directed by Takahisa Zeze, and starring Nana Komatsu & Masaki Suda
A Beloved Wife – An unsuccessful screenwriter is henpecked by his understandably irate sake-guzzling wife in this autobiographical take on a toxic marriage.
Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!: The Movie – big screen outing for the TV drama adaptation of the high school delinquent manga by Hiroyuki Nishimori directed by Yuichi Fukuda.
Theatre: A Love Story – A self-obsessed writer slowly destroys the joy and hope of a woman he claims to love then turns it into art in Isao Yukisada’s dark romance
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train – record breaking movie of the hit TV anime in which a boy in the Taisho era tries to heal his younger sister after she is turned into a demon.
The Confidence Man JP: Princess – sequel in which the gang of scammers try their luck in Malaysia
Wife of a Spy – 8K wartime drama from Kiyoshi Kurosawa in which Yu Aoi tries to stop her husband Takahashi Issei from blowing the whistle after witnessing atrocity in Manchuria.
The Voice of Sin – Shun Oguri stars as a reporter investigating a 30-year-old unsolved case.
Any Crybabies Around? – a young man flees his family in embarrassment after going viral for getting drunk and being naked at a festival only to return two years later to make it up to them.
First Love – boxing drama from Takashi Miike
Fukushima 50 – Setsuro Wakamatsu draws inspiration from Ryusho Kadota’s nonfiction book to pay tribute to the workers who stayed behind during the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Mother – Masami Nagasawa stars as an abusive mother who pushes her teenage son towards murder.
Mishima: The Last Debate – documentary focussing on Yukio Mishima’s address to the students at the University of Tokyo in 1969
Midnight Swan – ex-SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi stars as a transgender woman who takes in a little girl neglected by her parents.
Minoriyuku – drama about an apple farmer who was born with a stammer and dreams of becoming a comedian.
Mio’s Cookbook – Haruki Kadokawa period drama in which a woman who lost her parents in a flood discovers a talent for cooking.
Yowamushi Pedal – live action adaptation of the popular high school bicycle racing manga.

Best Director

Eiji Uchida (Midnight Swan)
Naomi Kawase (True Mothers)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Wife of a Spy)
Nobuhiro Doi (The Voice of Sin)
Ryota Nakano (The Asadas)

Best Actor

Shun Oguri (The Voice of Sin)
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Midnight Swan)
Koichi Sato (Fukushima 50)
Kazunari Ninomiya (The Asadas)
Mirai Moriyama (Underdog)

Best Actress

Yu Aoi (Wife of a Spy)
Mana Ashida (Child of the Stars)
Hiromi Nagasaku (True Mothers)
Masami Nagasawa (Mother / Confidence Man JP: Princess)
Asami Mizukawa (A Beloved Wife)

Best Supporting Actor

Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Asadas / I Never Shot Anyone)
Ryo Narita (The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese / Ito)
Masahiro Higashide (Confidence Man JP: Princess / Wife of a Spy)
Gen Hoshino (The Voice of Sin)
Ken Watanabe (Fukushima 50)

Best Supporting Actress

Sairi Ito (Theatre: A Love Story / Step / Junihitoe wo Kita Akuma / Hotel Royal)
Nana Eikura (Ito)
Haru Kuroki (The Asadas)
Becky (First Love)
Aju Makita (True Mothers)