Prizes
- International Competition
- Various prizes are awarded to works in the International Competition, which features fifteen documentaries selected from around the world. The work judged to be the best is given the Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize, named for the husband-and-wife team who cultivated and expanded the horizons of documentary film.
¥2,000,000 | ||
¥1,000,000 | ||
Flex International Award (Awards of Excellence) |
¥300,000 each | |
¥300,000 |
New Asian Currents- New Asian Currents introduces and supports the works of up-and-coming Asian documentarists, without placing restrictions on format or length. The most promising is awarded the Ogawa Shinsuke Prize, named in honor of the filmmaker who played a key role in the creation of the festival and strove to facilitate exchange among Asian documentarists.
¥500,000 | ||
Tohoku Denka Kogyo Award (Awards of Excellence) |
¥300,000 each |

Designed for YIDFF by sculptor Azuma Kenjiro (1926–2016), the trophies are modeled after the bright golden stalks of rice plants at harvest time, one of the symbols of Yamagata City and Yamagata Prefecture.Presented for both grand prizes (Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize, Ogawa Shinsuke Prize).
Kokeshi Trophy
Those filmmakers honored with the Mayor’s Prize, Awards of Excellence, the Special Jury Prize in the International Competition, and the Awards of Excellence in New Asian Currents will be awarded with a trophy by kokeshi artisan Umeki Naomi, who carries on the tradition of Zao Takayu kokeshi dolls.