Japanese Actor Tatsuya Fuji Honored at San Sebastian Festival

Jiji Press

15:30 JST, October 1, 2023

PARIS (Jiji Press) — Actor Tatsuya Fuji, 82, was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance at the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain on Saturday for his role in director Kei Chikaura’s film “Great Absence.”

The film tells the story of a father and son who reunite after a long estrangement. Fuji played the role of the father suffering from dementia, and Mirai Moriyama played the son. It also costars Yoko Maki and Hideko Hara.

The film is scheduled to be released in Japan next year.

Fuji expressed his gratitude in his emotional acceptance speech and received a round of applause.

“I saw an unexpected scene [after the screening of the film]. It was a very long standing ovation that touched my heart. The audience gave me warm applause, many kind looks and many beautiful smiles,” Fuji said.

He read the names of the crew and costars one by one and repeated, “Thank you.”

Fuji has appeared in three films directed by Chikaura, including Great Absence and a short film.

At a press conference on Friday before the awards ceremony, Fuji said there was nothing difficult about playing his role in Great Absence. “It was as if I was taken over by the man I was playing, and the filming was over in the blink of an eye,” he said.

Fuji has appeared in numerous films and television dramas, including the internationally acclaimed 1976 French-Japanese coproduction “Ai no Corrida” (In the Realm of the Senses), directed by Nagisa Oshima.