The JFFSF Honorary Awards is awarded to distinguished directors and actors for their outstanding international achievements in film.
【2017】JFFSF Honorary Award Winner
Kaori Momoi (Director, Actress)
At the 2017 Japan Film Festival of San Francisco, filmmaker and actor Kaori Momoi (Memoirs of a Geisha, Ghost In the Shell) appeared at the US premiere of her film Hee, and at the award ceremony at Fort Mason Center: honoring her achievements in filmmaking. See 2017 PHOTOS
Kaori Momoi
As one of the leading actors of Japan, Kaori Momoi has appeared in over 60 films, and is the most awarded actress in Japan, including an Academy Award of Japan. She has appeared in Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha, Shohei Imamura’s Eejanaika, Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django. She stepped into the international spotlight in 2005 with Memoirs of a Geisha, by Rob Marshall, The Sun by Alexander Sokuruv, and AMAYA by Maris Martinsons. In 2006 she made her mark as a director with her first film Faces of a Fig Tree; taking her to 11 international film festivals with five awards worldwide. She is also a 2008 recipient of the Medal with Purple Ribbon; Japan’s medal of honor awarded by the Emperor for contribution to the arts, academics or sports.
(Photo Left) Kaori Momomi at the Award Ceremony at J-POP SUMMIT 2017 / (Right) “Hee” Screening followed by Q&A
© YOSHIMOTO KOGYO/TEAM OKUYAMA
【2015】JFFSF Honorary Award Winner
Tadanobu Asano (Actor, Musician)
Tadanobu Asano was awarded the 1st JFFSF Honorary Award in 2015 for his international achievements, acclaimed films, and as one of the leading actors representing Japan today.
Actor Tadanobu Asano attended the 2015 Japan Film Festival of San Francisco opening night event at the Castro Theatre as the very first recipient of the JFFSF Honorary Award. The event kicked off with the screening of cult film Electric Dragon 80000V followed by a Q&A session with the actor. Mr. Asano also attended the special screening of My Man followed by a Q&A session at NEW PEOPLE Cinema. See PHOTOS
Tadanobu Asano (b. November 27, 1973. Kanagawa prefecture, Japan)
In 2003, Tadanobu Asano received the Upstream Prize for Best Actor at the 60th Annual Venice Film Festival for his role in the arthouse film Last Life In The Universe directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. He later portrayed a young Genghis Khan in Sergei Bodrov’s film Mongol, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008. In 2010, he received the Best Actor award at the 33rd Japanese Academy Awards for his roles in the films Villon’s Wife and Mt. Tsurugidake. In 2011, he had his Hollywood debut in the Marvel Studios film Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh. In 2014, he won the award for Best Actor at the 36th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in the Kazuyoshi Kumakiri film My Man, which also won the coveted Golden George award. He also received another Best Actor award for the same role at the 57th Blue Ribbon Awards in early 2015. His latest films include Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Journey To The Shore, which has already received a prize for Best Director at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and Tomoyuki Takimoto directed Grasshopper.
(Photo Left) Tadanobu Asano at the Award Ceremony at the Castro Theatre / (Right) Electric Dragon 80000V Screening followed by Q&A