Japan’s film production is ranked No.3 worldwide, behind only the United States and India. Its film industry is also ranked No.3, behind the U.S. and China. Japan has been known as the 3rd largest film-producing nation in the world. Japan’s film industry began in 1986, since then it has begun making domestic films. Its film industry has a very long history. Since the 1950s, Japan has won the Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival awards multiple times. The more recent 2009 film “Departures” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In anime, the widely popular “Spirited Away” won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The 22nd Busan International Film Festival saw the most number of Japanese film stars attending. It is indeed a fruitful year for Japanese films. Popular actors such as Suda Masaki, Kora Kengo, and celebrated director Kawase Naomi attended the festival, attracting much attention from fans.
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Immediately after the Busan festival, Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) was held for the 30th year. Celebrities from home and abroad made an appearance: Aoi Yu—voted as the “muse” of Japanese cinema, Miyazaki Aoi, Ando Sakura, Mitsushima Hikari, Hollywood actor Tommy Lee Jones (as a panelist), Chinese actress Zhao Wei, top actor Abe Hiroshi, and film festival ambassador Hashimoto Kana attended the festival, making this a star-studded event.
During these festivals, Hallyu World’s host, Hyesoo, got to interview many superstars in the industry.
One of the most sought-after actors currently in Japan, an icon representing youth in their 20s– Suda Masak
Known as “the kind of beauty that comes once every 1000 years”, Hashimoto Kanna is dubbed by Japanese media as a “millennium idol”. Fans actually flew to Tokyo so they could meet Hashimoto Kanna!
Kawase Naomi enjoys international recognition for her work “Suzaku”, which won her the “Best New Director” award at the Cannes Film Festival, the youngest director to win this honor. She’s appeared on red carpets all around the world, enjoying, even more, glamour than film stars.
When asked about her perspective on beauty, the director stated that in her opinion “beauty comes in different kinds. For example, someone with inner strength will naturally exude beauty in his/her outer appearance. As a human being, when you lack resolve in your heart, your posture would lack uprightness. It’s better to speak your mind frankly and directly.”
Top-grade actor Kora Kengo, known as a “concept actor” brings more attention to the film “Side Job”, which is the story of a young woman who lost a loved one in the nuclear reactor meltdowns in Fukushima., especially since last year he went to Kumamoto, an affected region, as a volunteer. He shared in the interview “Of all the information we’ve gotten, we have to know what to choose. To remember what happened, we must voice our concerns and take actions”.
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