The Vancouver International Film Festival has awarded its Dragons & Tigers Award for emerging Asian filmmakers to the Japanese drama Good Morning to the World!, by director Hirohara Satoru.

The film about a high school student’s search for the family and friends of a murdered homeless man beat out eight other Asian films for the coveted VIFF prize after having its international premiere in Vancouver.

The Dragons & Tigers jury, which included Korean director Bong Joon Ho and Canadian filmmaker Denis Côté, cited Satoru for “his fresh and frontal way of addressing his society’s problems.”

Special mentions went out to two other VIFF titles: Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di’s Don’t Be Afraid, Bi, and Rumination, by Chinese director Xu Ruotao.