Chen Kaige Announced For Tokyo Film Fest. Jury

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige will serve as Jury President during its 26th year.
Mr. Chen Kaige already has deep ties with the Festival. Farewell My Concubine, perhaps his most famous and the first Chinese film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes, was shown in the Special Screening section during TIFF's sixth year.
In 2008, he was honoured with the Akira Kurosawa Award for the most talented director at the 21st Tokyo Film Festival.
Mr Chen Kaige said: "Throughout the history of cinema, truly excellent films are rare. When we think of film as an industry, movies that can make money are valued more highly than truly excellent films. Nevertheless, we can still find films with strong characteristics which inspire us, because life itself is an inspiration.
"I hope to encounter such excellent films and I feel privileged to be the President of the International Competition Jury this year. We won't fail to award truly good movies, and we hope to encourage young filmmakers to create even more excellent works in the future."
Beijing-born Chen Kaige is a major figurehead in China's cinematic culture. He has served as a judge for the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals as well as several other festivals in China, Japan and Italy. In 2006, he was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival.
The 26th Tokyo International Film Festival runs from 17 – 25 October 2013.
Image: courtesy of Tokyo International Film Festival
(IT/JP)