Vietnamese-French director to sit on Tokyo International Film Festival jury
Vietnamese-French film director Tran Anh Hung has been chosen as a juror of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), to be held next month.
Hung, who sat on the Cannes jury in 1996, has been considered at the forefront of the wave of overseas Vietnamese cinema in the past two decades.
His films, which show profound contemplation of life in Vietnam, are both critically and commercially successful.
 |
His debut, “Mùi Đu Đủ Xanh” (The Scent of Green Papaya), earned the Caméra d'Or prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, a César Award for Best Debut at the French film awards ceremony.
It was also nominated for the 1993 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Hung’s next film, “Xích Lô” (Cyclo), which starred top Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, also won a top prize at the 1995 Venice International Film Festival.
In 2000, he had another film, “Mùa Hè Chiều Thẳng Đứng” (The Vertical Ray of the Sun), screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ten years later, he adapted the well-loved novel “Norwegian Wood” by Japanese author Haruki Murakami into a film, which was released in Japan in late 2010.
 |
The Tokyo International Film Festival’s jury list was announced on its website on September 25, including other film experts such as Norwegian director, writer and producer Bent Hamer; Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi; Danish director Susanne Bier; and Japanese film director and screenwriter Kazuki Omori.
The “X-Men” series director, American producer Bryan Singer, will be the president of the jury.
One of the highlights of the festival will be the blockbuster “Last Knights” starring international actors, including American veteran actor Morgan Freeman, Clive Owen from the UK, Ahn Sung-ki from South Korea, and Tsuyoshi Ihara from Japan.
The movie by Japanese director Kazuaki Kiriya will be presented in the festival’s Panorama Section.
The 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival will also feature numerous movies, including “Everest,” “Mozu,” “Seasons,” “Woman in Gold,” “You’re Not You,” and “Life.”
It is scheduled to take place from October 22 to 31.
Starting in 1985 as Japan's first major film festival, TIFF has grown to become one of the biggest film fests in Asia, according to the organizers.
It seeks out excellent films from around the world and brings them to Tokyo, where filmmakers and film fans can enjoy them, meet young filmmakers, and be inspired.