Prior to a screening of Jia Zhangke's A Touch of Sin at the Centre for Performing Arts, the Vancouver International Film Festival announced the winner of the 20th annual Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema.

Japan's Ikeda Akira was chosen for his feature Anatomy of a Paperclip (Yamamori Clip Koujou no Atari).

The Dragons and Tigers jury consisted of Melbourne Film festival director Geoff Gardener, MUBI editor Adam Cook, and Vancouver International Film Centre programmer Tom Charity.

Charity, on behalf of the jury, read out a statement to explain why they selected Ikeda's film from the seven nominated titles, which included 9 Muses of Star Empire (South Korea), Burn, Release, Explode, The Invincible (South Korea), My First Love (Japan), and The Spider's Lair (Philippines).

“Ikeda fashions a singularly droll and profound comedy from minimal means a handful of actors, five or six main locations, a story of drudgery and repetition," he said. "Yet the filmmaker’s precision and control is married to an unpredictable comic vision that will delight and surprise audiences.”

Ikeda will receive a $5,000 cash prize with his award. His film will receive another screening on Saturday (October 5) at 4 p.m. at International Village.

Vivian Qu's Trap Street (Shuiyin Jie) a thriller about surveillance culture in China, was chosen as the first runner-up.

Special mention also went to a Chinese film: Chai Chunya's Four Ways to Die in My Hometown (Wo Guxiang de Sizhong Siwang Fangshi) shot in the rural province Gansu near Tibet.

All of the nominees walked the red carpet, with additional guests from other Dragons and Tigers films, before attending the ceremony (see photo gallery).