May 29 (NHK) - Japanese director Hayakawa Chie's film PLAN 75 has received a Special Mention by the jury for the Camera d'Or, an award for debut feature films, at the Cannes Film Festival.
The movie is set in Japan in the near future, when a government program encourages people aged 75 or older to be voluntarily euthanized as a remedy to the rapidly aging society.
The main character, an elderly woman, faces a choice of life or death and ponders the meaning of life.
The film was in the "Un Certain Regard" or "a certain glance" section, which presents works with non-traditional stories.
At the festival, South Korean actor Song Kang-ho received the Best Actor Award for his role in "Broker."
The movie by Japanese director Koreeda Hirokazu depicts the journey of a group of people brought together by a "baby box," where infants who cannot be cared for can be left anonymously.