The Tokyo International Film Festival has revealed that legendary Japanese actor Yoshinaga Sayuri will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival’s 38th edition, which runs Oct. 27-Nov. 5.
The accolade comes as Yoshinaga stars in “Climbing for Life,” this year’s TIFF opening film, in which she portrays the first woman to climb Mount Everest. The role marks her 124th screen appearance across a career spanning more than six decades.
Since her film debut in 1959’s “Asa o yobu kuchibue,” Yoshinaga has remained at the forefront of Japanese cinema. She has won the Japan Academy Film Prize for best leading actress multiple times, including for “Ohan,” “Station to Heaven,” “Crane,” “A Chaos of Flowers,” “Nagasaki Bura Bura” and “Year One in the North.”
Her work has earned recognition at the highest levels of Japanese society, with the government naming her a Person of Cultural Merit and bestowing the Medal with Purple Ribbon.
Yoshinaga served as both producer and star of “Cape Nostalgia,” which took home both the jury grand prix and the ecumenical jury prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. In recent years, she has tackled roles exploring war’s lingering effects and life’s dignity in films including “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son” and “Mom, Is That You?!”
“Ms. Yoshinaga has risen to the pinnacle of Japanese cinema over many years, overcoming numerous challenges along the way,” said Ando Hiroyasu, 38th TIFF chair. “Her remarkable journey mirrors that of the indomitable female mountaineer she portrays in ‘Climbing for Life,’ who became the first woman ever to conquer Mount Everest. It is a great honor to present her with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition and appreciation of her outstanding contributions to cinema.”
The festival will take place across Tokyo’s Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area, with the TIFFCOM market running Oct. 29-31.
AloJapan.com