First and foremost,
there's a friendship. And then, there's a film that has touched the hearts of
the whole world. On the 25th of April, Wim Wenders
will be in Udine to personally present the Golden Mulberry Lifetime
Achievement Award to his friend, the film's star Yakusho Koji, on
the stage of the Teatro Nuovo "Giovanni da Udine" theatre.
Wenders' presence is more than just a simple gesture of respect - it's an act
of cinematic love between two artists who, in the summer of 2022, created
something extraordinary together.
Shot in just 16
days in Tokyo's Shibuya district, Perfect Days tells the
silent, luminous story of Hirayama: public restroom cleaner, amateur
photographer of the light filtering through the trees, and a man who has chosen
simplicity as a form of freedom. Wenders directed and co-wrote the film with Takuma Takasaki trusting completely in his actor's talent, and it was shot on a stress-free set
amidst the living reality of the city—with its sirens, rain and noise—without
ever interrupting the action. "We won't wait for silence," said
Wenders on the first day of shooting. "Even if there's noise, we'll keep
rolling." Which is exactly what they did. And the result won over Cannes
2023, where Yakusho received the Best Actor Award, and then the rest of
the world too.
The Far East
Film Festival will welcome Wenders on the stage of the Teatro Nuovo "Giovanni da
Udine" theatre on the evening of April the 25th for
the Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Yakusho Koji. This
will be followed by a screening of Perfect Days on the big screen
at the Teatro Nuovo. Thus, Wenders' film returns to Udine, bringing with it its
director, its star, and everything that made their collaboration unforgettable.
The evening is part
of the broader tribute that FEFF 28 is dedicating to Yakusho Koji in
collaboration with the Japanese Cultural Institute in Rome / The Japan
Foundation and ANA (All Nippon Airways): a retrospective of eight
titles — The Blood of Wolves, The Woodsman and the Rain, The Eel, Perfect Days, Tampopo, Under the Open Sky, 13 Assassins, and Cure — seven
of which presented in Udine and five in Rome to paint a portrait of
the "Japanese Tom Hanks." The tribute will then continue on the 28th
of April at the Institute in Rome with "Yakusho Koji: Perfect Roles,"
which includes a public conversation between Yakusho and writer and translator
Giorgio Amitrano.
Some evenings are
unforgettable. And there's no question that the 25th of April at the
Teatro Nuovo "Giovanni da Udine" theatre will be one of them!