36th TIFF to Shine a Spotlight on Legendary Filmmaker Ozu Yasujiro

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The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is pleased to announce that internationally acclaimed German filmmaker, writer and photographer Wim Wenders will serve as the President of the International Competition jury at the 36th TIFF.
 
TIFF’s chairman Ando Hiroyasu expressed his delight that the renowned creator would be returning to TIFF for the first time in over a decade.
 
Wenders has received many global honors throughout his 55-year career, including the Golden Lion for The State of Things at the Venice Film Festival (1982); the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival for Paris, Texas; and Best Director for Wings of Desire at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. He is also a three-time Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature, for Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Pina (2011) and The Salt of the Earth (2014).

He is also known to be well versed in Japan. Since watching Ozu Yasujiro’s film Tokyo Story, he has been fascinated with Ozu’s work, and created highly acclaimed documentary Tokyo-ga in 1985 as an homage to the classic master. His latest film, Perfect Days, was selected for the 76th Cannes Competition section. It stars Japanese actor Yakusho Koji, who won the Best Actor Award at Cannes, and profiles a series of high-end public toilets designed by leading architects in Shibuya, Tokyo. Wenders also held a Special Screening of his 3D documentary Anselm, a portrait of German artist Anselm Kiefer.
 
Wenders screened a film in TIFF’s first edition in 1985, with his Palme d’Or winner Paris, Texas appearing in the Festival of Festivals section. He joined us with his film Until the End of the World as the Closing Film in 1991 and then served as the TIFF Young Cinema Competition’s President of the Jury in 1993. He will now participate in TIFF for the first time in 12 years, since his film Pina was screened in the Special Screening section in 2011.
 
Furthermore, the 36th TIFF is delighted to announce that we will be highlighting the one of the most internationally celebrated Japanese filmmakers, Ozu Yasujiro. Commemorating the 120th anniversary of Ozu’s birth, it is a great pleasure to welcome Wim Wenders, an Ozu fan, to host this special feature. Look for a separate upcoming announcement about the specific films to be screened and related events.
 

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Wim Wenders Comment
I’m excited to be back at the Tokyo International Film Festival. I only have the best memories of my first jury presence and the jury members from that time are still in touch, still calling each other “Claudie-san*” and “Paul-san*” and “Wim-san*.” For this festival happening 60 years after the death and therefore 120 years after Ozu’s birthday, my declared master, makes the occasion very special to me.
*Claudie Ossard (Producer) and Paul Auster (Writer)
* “-san” is a Japanese common honorific title.
 

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Ando Hiroyasu, Chairman of TIFF, Comment
We approached Mr. Wenders, who is known for his admiration of Japanese culture, with an offer to serve as the Jury President when he visited Japan last autumn to receive Japan’s Praemium Imperiale, one of the world’s most important art prizes. We were delighted and encouraged to receive a positive response. In this year in which we commemorate the 120th anniversary of Ozu Yasujiro’s birth, it is truly meaningful that Mr. Wenders, who deeply respects Ozu, will be at TIFF. We were also thrilled to hear the wonderful news that Yakusho Koji, who stars in Mr. Wenders’ Perfect Days, has received the Best Actor Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
 

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Wim Wenders Profile
Wim Wenders (born 1945 in Düsseldorf) is considered one of the pioneers of the New German Cinema of the 1970s and one of the most important representatives of contemporary cinema.
 
In addition to multi-award-winning feature films, such as Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987), he has also created several innovative documentaries such as Pina, Buena Vista Social Club, The Salt of the Earth and Pope Francis – A Man of His Word. Wenders is a director, producer, photographer and author; his photographic work has been exhibited in museums around the world, and his output includes numerous photo books, film books and collections of essays.
 
Wim Wenders and his wife Donata Wenders live in Berlin. In 2012, they founded the non-profit Wim Wenders Foundation in Düsseldorf, which brings together Wim Wenders’ film, photographic and literary life’s work by restoring it and making it permanently accessible to the public. The Wim Wenders Foundation is also committed to promoting young talent in the field of innovative cinematic storytelling through the Wim Wenders Grant.