Japan’s Tao Okamoto Wins Best Actress Award at Cannes

Cannes, France, May 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Tao Okamoto and France’s Virginie Efira won the best actress award in the competition category at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for their roles in the film “All of a Sudden” directed by Japan’s Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Okamoto became the first Japanese actress to receive the award. Among Japanese actors, Yuya Yagira and Koji Yakusho have won the best actor award at Cannes. “The simple reason why a mediocre Japanese actress, someone like me, is standing here today is purely because of our amazing director,” Okamoto, 41, said in a speech at the awards ceremony in Cannes, southern France. Looking back on the shooting, Efira, 49, said that it was a life experience she would never forget. In addition to Hamaguchi’s film, a total of 22 works were nominated in this year’s competition category, including “Sheep in the Box” by Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda and “Nagi Notes” by Koji Fukada, another Japanese director. The festival’s highest honor, the Palme d’Or, went to “Fjord” by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. “All of a Sudden” tells the story of a Japanese woman battling illness, played by Okamoto, who meets the director of a nursing home, played by Efira, in Paris. The 3-hour-and-16-minute film depicts aging, death and human connections. Born in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, in 1985, Okamoto started her career as a model at the age of 14 and gained prominence overseas, appearing in films and dramas in Japan and abroad. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]