Renowned Japanese filmmaker Yamada Yoji will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), commemorating a distinguished career that encompasses more than sixty years and 91 films.
The festival will feature a screening of Yamada’s latest film, “Tokyo Taxi,” which stars Baisho Chieko and Kimura Takuya. The picture, adapted from the 2023 French success “Driving Madeleine,” will be the official highlight of TIFF before its worldwide release on November 21. Yamada will participate in a special discussion with “Kokuho” director Lee Sang-il in the TIFF Lounge.
This year’s accolades will include a Lifetime Achievement Award for renowned Japanese actress Yoshinaga Sayuri.
Since his debut with “Nikai no tanin” in 1961, Yamada has documented the nuances of Japanese life through films that harmonise comedy, melancholy, and social commentary. The cherished “Tora-san” series (“Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp”), which aired from 1969 through 50 volumes, is a fundamental element of Japanese cinema and possesses a Guinness World Record for the longest-running film series featuring the same lead actor.
In the 2000s, Yamada transitioned to period dramas and garnered renewed recognition with “The Twilight Samurai” (2002), which won 15 Japan Academy Film Prizes and received an Oscar nomination. “The Hidden Blade” (2004) participated in the Berlin Film Festival, whilst “The Little House” (2014) received the Silver Bear at the Berlinale. His latest works comprise “Tora-san, Wish You Were Here” (2019), “It’s a Flickering Life” (2021), and “Mom, Is That You?!” (2023).
TIFF chair Ando Hiroyasu stated, “Yamada Yoji has consistently depicted Japan’s changing society with empathy and accuracy, converting quotidian experiences into enduring cinema.” He emphasised Yamada’s lasting contributions to the festival and his leadership as the chair of the Kurosawa Akira Award Jury.
Yamada, a cultural legend, has been awarded several of Japan’s prestigious accolades, including the Order of Culture (2012), the title of Person of Cultural Merit (2004), and the status of Honorary Citizen of Tokyo (2014).
The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival is scheduled for October 27 to November 5 in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area.
