TAKESHI KITANO HONORARY CEREMONY
Takeshi Kitano, the acclaimed Japanese director, was honored by TIFF during a ceremony that was held at the Olympion theatre on Tuesday, November 18th.
TIFF director Despina Mouzaki said: ’A director, producer, scriptwriter, TV personality and writer, Takeshi Kitano is a life-giving force for Japanese cinema. His work, although deeply personal and enriched with ideas and symbols of the Japanese culture, becomes universal thanks to Kitano’s unique ability to translate his thoughts into inspired, poetic and at the same time violent and grandiose stories and images’.
Takeshi Kitano mentioned that award is of great importance for him. ‘Although my knowledge of Greece is limited, I know very well that it is a country with long history which set the grounds for Western civilization and gave to the world great philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and mathematicians like Pythagoras. For this reason, the award I received today is a big honor for me. On the other hand, though, it also makes me feel a bit awkward as I don’t believe I deserve such an honor from Greece’, he pointed out with modesty. He also added: ‘This award motivates me to keep on making films with the hope that maybe one day I will come back to Thessaloniki to win another award with a new film’.
The ceremony was followed by the screening of Kitano’s latest film Achilles and the Tortoise.
