Yoshida Daihachi’s Teki Cometh proved to be the big winner of the Tokyo International Film Festival’s major awards categories that were revealed Wednesday night at a glitzy ceremony in the Japanese capital.

Teki Cometh, a feature adaptation of a book by celebrated Japanese novelist Tsutsui Yasutaka, won the festival’s top prize, the Tokyo Grand Prix, as well as the best director honor for Yoshida and the best actor award for star Nagatsuka Kyozo. The meditative film, featuring monochrome cinematography, tells the story of a retired professor of French literature (Nagatsuka) who gives the odd guest lecture and plans his own end based on when his money will run out. Old friends and former students come to visit. During one of his rare excursions, he encounters an attractive young French literature student, played by Yumi Kawai.

The festival’s special jury prize went to Adios Al Amigo, Colombian...