“Farewell My Concubine” helmer to head Tokyo Film Fest jury

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige will be president of the jury for the main competition section at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), The Hollywood Reporter said.

Kaige's Farewell My Concubine won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1993, becoming the first Chinese film to win the award, as well as being nominated for two Academy Awards. He was also awarded the Akira Kurosawa Award for lifetime achievement in film, along with Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, at the 2008 TIFF.

Farewell My Concubine was shown in the special screening section at the 6th TIFF.

As well as being an acclaimed director, Chen has appeared onscreen, in his own 1999 film The Emperor and the Assassin and 1987's The Last Emperor.

In addition to being a leading figure in Asian cinema, having Kaige as jury president will be a coup for TIFF in terms of it trying to rise above the current Chinese-Japanese political tensions which have occasionally spilled over into the event in recent years.

The 26th TIFF will run Oct. 17-25 at Roppongi Hills and other central Tokyo venues, while the TIFFCOM contents market will be held in the Odaiba, Tokyo Bay area, from Oct 22-25.