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In the Limelight: Yoji Yamada

Time
Feb 17th 2010
Location
HAU 1
Guests
Tsutomu Abe, Masayo Kajimura, Yoji Yamada, Ichirô Yamamoto
Topics
#Asia #Networking/Collaborating #Producing #Directing

In cooperation with Berlinale Forum.

Yôji Yamada is one of Japan’s preeminent directors with a lengthy career of over 80 films starting in 1968 and including the critically acclaimed Downtown Heroes, The Twilight Samurai, and Kaabee – all of which competed for the Golden Bear in previous years. Yamada is also very well-known for making the longest ever theatrical film series OTOKO WA TSURAI YO (better known as TORA-SAN), spanning a period of about 25 years and comprising 48 films. A combination of road movie, romance, comedy and nostalgia, it was a box-office success every single time. This prolific filmmaker returns to the Berlinale with two films in this year’s programme: OTOUTO and KYOTO STORY; the latter a collaborative project with Japanese students. Together with producer Ichirô Yamamoto and Tsutomu Abe, co-director on KYOTO STORY, he talks about the twists and turns in his long cinematic journey and his collaboration with a new generation of Japanese filmmakers.

Tsutomu Abe

Japanese director, he co-directed KYOTO STORY which was screened at the Berlinale Forum in 2010.

Masayo Kajimura

A Japanese German video artist and curator, she made short films, video installations and works in collaboration with dance and music. She curated the film series MADE IN GERMANY, which runs regularly at the Werkstatt der Kulturen and the video art sections of film festivals such as Asian Hot Shots Berlin and Nippon Connection.

Yoji Yamada

Renowned Japanese director, he is well-known for the popular "Tora-san" series, the world’s longest theatrical film series. His cache of films includes the critically acclaimed DOWNTOWN HEROES, THE HIDDEN BLADE, THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI and KABEE. In 2010, he presented two films at the Berlinale - OTOUTO as the official closing film of the festival and KYOTO STORY in the Berlinale Forum.

Ichirô Yamamoto

Japanese producer, he made THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI, CAFÉ LUMIÈRE and LOVE AND HONOR for which he won the Best Screenplay Award of the Japanese Academy in 2006. He was the producer of the Berlinale closing film OTOUTO in 2010.