[Above: Film still from Looking For Anne and photos of Takako Miyahira from the awards ceremony.]

IT was a night she will never forget.

Winning two of the most recognised film awards at the 5th Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF) is a feat not everyone can accomplish, yet first-time Japanese director, Takako Miyahira, did just that.

Her achievements included Best Director and Best Film for her debut film, Looking For Anne, a story about a 17-year-old Japanese girl who goes on a secret mission to find her recently deceased grandmother's first love.

The film was lauded by jury member and film producer of blockbuster Superman Returns and SWAT, Mr Chris Lee, for having "many surprises" and "no cliches". He also said that the film was "very emotional and touching".

Takako, who is currently based in Montreal, flew in to Singapore for the first time to receive her awards at a gala dinner event held at the Raffles Hotel Ballroom last week.

The 30-year-old director spoke to AsiaOne at an exclusive interview about her experiences directing and writing the award-winning film.

Best Film: Looking For Anne

How does it feel to win the two most important awards - Best Film and Best Director?

I worked very hard for my film but I know everyone else at the festival did too. I never expected I could get this prize. It's an experience to meet first-time directors and share the same feelings and true hardships with one another.

I'm so proud of them and I truly feel that this is an encouragement for all the young people out there who want to be a filmmaker.

How long did you take to create the film?

About two years for writing and one year to shoot the film, so three years in total.

What difficulties did you face?

The most difficult part is writing the scenario. It was challenging for me to make a scenario that remains faithful to the book "Anne of Green Gables" and you cannot insult the book by copying the same plot.

Another difficulty faced as a first-time director was coping with experienced actors; I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to that.

Daniel Pilon, the lead actor, changed some lines in my script after reading it and I had to explain to him why the character should be portrayed like that and make him understand what is good for the role and what is not good for the film without hurting his feelings.

After 11 takes, he understood right away what I wanted and after that it became easy.