 The idea for Departures arose after Motoki , affected by having seen a funeral ceremony along the Ganges when travelling in India , read widely on the subject of death and came across Coffinman . He felt that the story would adapt well to film , and Departures was finished a decade later . Because of Japanese prejudices against those who handle the dead , distributors were reluctant to release it — until a surprise grand prize win at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 2008 . The following month the film opened in Japan , where it went on to win the Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and become the year 's highest @-@ grossing domestic film . This success was topped in 2009 , when it became the first Japanese production to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . 
