Japanese Film Wins Shared Best Actress Prize at Cannes

Tao Okamoto shared the Cannes Film Festival best actress prize on May 24 with Belgium's Virginie Efira for their performances in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's drama "All of a Sudden." The film is a coproduction involving Japan, France, Belgium and Germany. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted on X that the project demonstrated how Japan can work with various countries to create new value.

Three new works by Hamaguchi, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Koji Fukada screened in the competition section. Yukiko Sode's "All the Lovers in the Night" appeared in Un Certain Regard, Kohei Kadowaki's "We Are Aliens" screened in Directors' Fortnight, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "The Samurai and the Prisoner" was selected for Cannes Premiere.

Greek director Konstantina Kotzamani's Japanese-language film "Titanic Ocean" also screened in Un Certain Regard.

Filmmakers, producers and industry groups used the festival and its Marche du Film market to form partnerships and pitch projects. Japan was named country of honor at the market this year.