Tokyo [Japan], September 29 (ANI): Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and director O Mipo will be honoured with the Kurosawa Akira Award at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), reported Variety.
According to the outlet, the two were chosen by a committee of filmmakers Yamada Yoji and Lee Sang-il, cinematographer Ashizawa Akiko and TIFF programming director Ichiyama Shozo.
The Iranian filmmaker won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2020 for 'There Is No Evil,' which later played at the 33rd TIFF. His 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' took the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 2024, and was also the Oscar entry for Germany for best international feature.
According to the outlet, the filmmaker was still finishing that film when he had to flee Iran in secret, shortly before Cannes. He was jailed in 2010 while shooting a film and arrested again in 2022, then provisionally released after eight months. He has shot many of his films in secret and smuggled them abroad to screen.
“Receiving the Kurosawa Award is a great honor for me. His films are profound explorations of the human condition and the moral choices we make in moments of crisis,” said Rasoulof, as quoted by Variety.
As for O Mipo, the filmmaker started out as a script supervisor after working at Obayashi Nobuhiko’s production company. She made her feature debut in 2006 with 'The Sakais’ Happiness.' 'The Light Shines Only There' (2014) won her best director at the Montreal World Film Festival and was Japan’s Oscar submission.
'Being Good' was named best Asian film at the Moscow International Film Festival. After a nine-year gap in which she had two children, she came back with 'Living in Two Worlds' (2024), which competed at Shanghai. Her latest, 'How Dare You?' (2025), played in competition at Zlín, reported Variety.
The festival will also show a selection of Kurosawa’s favorite films, along with two of his own. The lineup is Charles Chaplin’s 'The Circus', 4K restorations of Kurosawa’s 'Sanshiro Sugata' and 'Ikiru', and Abbas Kiarostami’s 'Where Is the Friend’s House?'.
The festival is set to run from October 26 to November 4. (ANI)
Directors Mohammad Rasoulof, O Mipo to receive Kurosawa Akira Award at Tokyo Intl. Film Festival 2026
