[Ambassador] The world premiere of “Gift” and the talk show at the 50th edition of the Film Fest Gent

On 18 October, the Film Fest Gent and the Embassy of Japan co-hosted a world premier of “Gift”, with the attendance of Ambassador Mikami. The newest film by the film director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Gift”, is a silent film edited from the same footage and the scenario of his film “Evil Does Not Exist”, which won the Grand Jury Prize and other awards at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. “Gift” had its premiere with a live music performance by the composer Eiko Ishibashi and ended with huge applause by the audience.

The talk show with Hamaguchi and Ishibashi on 20 October highlighted their creative collaboration that began with Hamaguchi’s film “Drive My Car” released in 2021. Hamaguchi and Ishibashi spoke about the beginning of their collaboration and their ideas on the relationship between films and music in front of a large audience.

After the end of the talk show, Hamaguchi was awarded with the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award by the Film Fest Gent to recognise his piercingly beautiful oeuvre which explore the profundities of human life in various genres and honour him as one of the greatest Japanese film directors of the 21st century. Receiving the award, Hamaguchi said that he continues working on the films so that everyone agrees with the Film Fest Gent’s choice of him as an awardee.