The movie "Fushigi Na Misaki No Monogatari" ("Cape Nostalgia") starring veteran actress Sayuri Yoshinaga has won the Special Grand Prix at the Montreal World Film Festival.

It is the first Japanese film to win the second-highest award at the festival since "Waga Haha no Ki" ("Chronicle of My Mother") by director Masato Harada in 2011.

Japan's Mipo O also won the best director award for "Sokonominite Hikari Kagayaku" ("The Light Shines Only There").

"Cape Nostalgia," directed by Izuru Narushima, is Yoshinaga's 118th film.

This time, she also took part in the movie from the planning stage, a first for her.

The film, due to be released in Japan on Oct. 11, is a heart-warming tale about a group of people who gather at a small-town cafe.

"The Light Shines Only There," featuring actor Go Ayano and actress Chizuru Ikewaki, has been in Japanese theaters since April.

The director, O, a third-generation South Korean living in Japan, has already grabbed attention for her short movies made while working as an assistant to director Nobuhiko Obayashi. The Mie Prefecture native graduated from Osaka University of Arts.

A number of Japanese films have won prizes at the festival in the past. In 2006, "Nagai Sanpo" ("A Long Walk") directed by actor Eiji Okuda took the grand prize, as did "Okuribito" ("Departures"), directed by Yojiro Takita, in 2008.