It’s no secret that hundreds of filmmakers, actors and cinema enthusiasts have been inspired by Akira Kurosawa‘s films over the years. With March 23rd representing the 100th Anniversary of his birth, the master of cinema is as influential today as he ever was. Established greats such as Martin Scorsese credit Kurosawa as being a major influence in their life’s work. In a recent interview, Scorsese couldn’t stress enough the importance of Kurosawa, “Let me say it simply, Kurosawa was my Master.”
To celebrate Kurosawa’s 100th Anniversary, the Green Planet Movie Awards has managed to pull in two of Japan’s top directors Shinya Tsukamoto and Hitoshi Iwamoto for the March 23rd event to attend in person an open screening of Kurosawa’s most famous and influential picture “Seven Samurai.” “To be able to screen one of Kurosawa’s and indeed the world cinema’s greatest films to the public, and have two top Japanese directors there in person to interact with the audience about it is such a huge opportunity for any film fan! It’s going to be an amazing event,” commented an excited Darrell Nelson, the Asia representative for the Green Planet Movie Awards.
Known as one of Quentin Tarantino‘s favorite directors, Tsukamoto has started to garner a cult following both home and abroad and like many of today’s leading directors is a huge Kurosawa fan,
“In everything from story, camera work, editing and even music, there’s always a strong sense of dynamism that flows through his pictures which affect the viewer on a deep level. As Kurosawa was fond of saying, I too aim to be ‘Bold as an angel but meticulous as the devil!’ I am delighted to be able to be part of celebrating Akira Kurosawa’s genius on his 100th anniversary.”
There will be an open floor Q&A session on March 23rd at the Bonaventure Hotel in LA from 12 pm with Shinya Tsukamoto and Hitoshi Iwamoto after which there will be a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s “Severn Samurai,” free of charge and open to the public. The event also features screenings of the winners of Short Shorts Film Festival Asia “Stop Global Warming Campaign,” and award winning film “Half Kenneth,” featuring Q&A with director Ken Ochiai.
