On Sunday, the Ottawa International Animation Festival ended on a high note for Japanese director Koji Yamamura. His "Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor" won the festival's Nelvana Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Animation, making him the first Japanese to earn that honor.

This is the fourth major animation festival where Yamamura has earned a Grand Prize. His 2002 short "Atamayama" took top honors at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and Animafest Zagreb.