In a tribute that’s as overdue as it’s becoming, the thirty eighth Tokyo Worldwide Movie Pageant will current its Lifetime Achievement Award to filmmaker Yoji Yamada, whose extraordinary profession has spanned greater than six many years and practically the complete postwar evolution of Japanese cinema.
Yamada made his directorial debut in 1961 with the home drama Nikai no Tanin and has since gone on to helm 91 movies — from intimate portraits of unusual Japanese life to sweeping interval dramas that revitalized the jidaigeki type. His beloved Tora-san sequence, a few lovelorn touring salesman (Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp) — 50 movies launched between 1969 and 1995 — grew to become a nationwide establishment and stays acknowledged by Guinness World Data because the longest-running movie sequence starring the identical actor.
From the mild home realism of The Yellow Handkerchief and House from the Sea within the Nineteen Seventies to his late-career masterpieces The Twilight Samurai (2002) and The Hidden Blade (2004), Yamada’s nice theme has been the humor, dignity and quiet endurance of Japanese life by way of altering occasions. He has remained a relentless chronicler of the nation’s ethical and emotional panorama throughout the golden age of Shochiku Studios, Japan’s fashionable indie renaissance, and the emergence of the worldwide arthouse circuit. Now 93, Yamada stays tirelessly at work: his newest function, Tokyo Taxi — a remake of the French drama Driving Madeleine — will display screen because the competition’s centerpiece title earlier than its nationwide launch on Nov. 21.
“Yoji Yamada has lengthy noticed the realities of Japanese society with a discerning but compassionate eye, crystallizing them into quite a few cinematic masterpieces,” stated Tokyo competition chairman Hiroyasu Ando, praising the director’s “profound love of cinema” and “deep dedication to the way forward for the medium.”
Yamada is taking part in a number of different roles on the 2025 Tokyo Worldwide Movie Pageant as effectively. He chaired the occasion’s Kurosawa Akira Award jury, which can current Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao and Japanese director Lee Sang-il with the celebrated prize. He may also participate in a masterclass dialogue with Lee on Oct. 30 throughout the TIFF Lounge discuss sequence, organized by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
Throughout the many years, Yamada has obtained quite a few different honors in Japan, together with the Minister of Schooling Award for High-quality Arts and the Mainichi Artwork Award (1970); the Kikuchi Kan Prize (1972); the Medal with Purple Ribbon and the Asahi Prize (1996); the Order of the Rising Solar, Gold Rays with Rosette (2002); recognition as a Individual of Cultural Advantage (2004); membership within the Japan Artwork Academy (2008); the Order of Tradition (2012); and designation as an Honorary Citizen of Tokyo in 2014.
The thirty eighth Tokyo Worldwide Movie Pageant runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 5.