By TAKUJI HOSOMI/ Staff Writer
September 28, 2022 at 07:00 JST
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda, left, receives the Robert Bresson Award in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 6. (Takuji Hosomi)
VENICE--Hirokazu Kore-eda, an internationally renowned director whose films include "Shoplifters" and "Broker," was awarded the prestigious Robert Bresson Prize, the first Japanese director to receive the honor.
The awards ceremony was held concurrently with the 79th Venice Film Festival in this Italian city on Sept. 6.
Kore-eda praised Bresson, the great French director the award is named after.
"He made a masterpiece called 'L'Argent' at the very end of his career,” Kore-eda said. “I want to remember how he pursued his career to encourage me and work on my new projects."
The prize is organized by the Italy-based Ente dello Spettacolo Foundation and the film magazine Cinematografo. It is sponsored by the Roman Curia's Pontifical Council for Culture and other institutions.
The award is given to film directors whose creative works pursue the spiritual meaning of life and leave a meaningful mark on the world of film.
Launched in 2000, the award has been given to established filmmakers including Wim Wenders and Ken Loach.
The organizers said Kore-eda was honored because he has updated the canon of Japanese cinema more than anyone else and raised important questions in his works about memory, death, family and love with his global and extremely modern sensitivity.
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