A short animated feature by director Koji Yamamura has won the grand prize at this year's Ottawa International Animation Festival, according to a Japanese film distributor.

It is the first time a Japanese director has been awarded the Nelvana Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Animation at the festival, known as one of the four biggest animation events in the world, said distributor Shochiku Co., which received the information about the award given Sept. 23.

The 20-minute work, Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor, is based on the short story of the same title by the Czech-born author and depicts a country doctor's sorrow.

It is scheduled for release in Japan in mid-November.

"I am filled with a sense of satisfaction," Yamamura wrote in his blog.