Tomoya Suenaga (asst. dir.) and Yukiko Sunahara (lead actress) of the film, “buy a suit” directed by the late Jun Ichikawa (dir.); the winner of the Best Picture Award for the Japanese Eyes section, made their appearance on the stage.

It was Suenaga who said “We’ve already reported to the director about winning the award. The director has been with us since the day he passed away.” Sunahara (actress) usually works as a staff for commercial shooting. When the press asked her if she would like to continue her career as an actress, she replied, “I doubt not. If there is an offer, I must consult with Director Ichikawa.” They all seemed to give more than a passing thought for the director. “Mr. Ichikawa wanted to recall the feeling when he first began to make a film. He wanted to make the film he honestly wanted to. He wanted to direct a film other than a commercial film. This film was the first of series that he wanted to make.” When he first held the HDV camera, Director Ichikawa played with it happily like a child. Mr. Ichikawa has already decided on Ms. Sunahara as a lead back then,” which Sunahara herself didn’t know.




Huseyin Karabey (dir.) who expect the film to be released in his country in two weeks to come made a comment about the award, “I am glad that the film received the international reputation. He explained that he was a Kurd living in Turkey. “This is my first film to be theatrically released. But I’ve been making film that dealt with human rights since 12 years ago. I’ve been making film to convey the facts known only by the people who are concerned with the issue without unfair stereo-typing. The beliefs that motivates us is not hate but understanding. It is our effort that makes the peace. It means a lot for a Kurd who lives in Turkey to be awarded with the film that dealt with the taboo issue in Turkey.” Karabey closed his speech by saying, “I hope that the younger generation of film makers will follow my path.”




Jon Voight, President of Jury was last to give a speech at the press conference. Now that the selection is over, I can take it easy now,” he made the press laugh. He explained the reason for selecting Tulpan as the winner of the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix.

For this edition, we didn’t intend to give out the six awards evenly to the six winners. In any case, we wanted to award the film that we thought was the best. We didn’t mind how many awards were presented to one awardee. Seen in that light, we chose Tulpan as a solid vote. Obviously, he was the director that made the best film which was superior in every means.

When Jon Voight was asked with the question about the Green Carpet, he replied, “It’s the first time I’ve walked on such a huge carpet. It’s a wonderful thought to make a carpet from recycled matter. The carpet is made strong and durable. I want to congratulate those who made it. “Idai”= (Japanese word for “great”). It’s definitely a 5 star, “ he said comically. He added, “I’ve never gave such a long speech about the carpet (laughingly), which made the press members roar in laughter.

When voight was asked with the questions from the French and the Chinese press with the reason why other films weren’t selected as a winner or why the film was selected as winner. According to Voight’s opinion, there were three films that I wanted to really award with a small bouquet. The films were School Days with a Pig, Hamoon and Darya and Planet Carlos. I really want the young people to really watch these films for these films pursue the wonderful dreams. I’ve consulted with the Chairman Tom Yoda and told him of my idea of making these films to DVD and pass them at schools. I wanted to talk about the film with the students for an hour,” Voight expressed himself passionately. “I’ve requested to make a small award from the President of the Jury, but it was a last minute request, too short of a notice and couldn’t make it happen.

The press conference started 50 minutes late due to the exciting Closing Ceremony but was filled with the mood of celebration and feelings of the filmmakers.