JAPANESE CINEMATOGRAPHER SHOJI UEDA AND HIS ?ASIAN EYES?


Bangkok, THAILAND ? In addition to the annual Crystal Lens Award, the BKKIFF?s Cinematographer?s Day this year will also give recognition to master cinematographers in Asia through its new segment: ?Asian Eyes?, a celebration of excellence in cinematography in Asian films. A newly created Golden Kinnaree award ? the Asian Eyes Award ? will be bestowed to Japanese cinematographer Shoji Ueda at the festival?s Awards Gala ceremony in February 2006.

Mr. Ueda ? also known as Masaharu Ueda ? worked most closely with the Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa in films such as Kagemusha, Ran, Dreams, Rhapsody in August, Madadayo, and After the Rain. He was honoured with 3 Japan Academy Prizes for Best Cinematography, as well as
multiple nominations. In the west, his work in Ran (in collaboration with Takao Sait?) earned him nominations for Best Cinematography for the BAFTA and the Academy Award. Among his noteworthy body of works are also Takashi Koizumi?s Letter from the Mountain and Hideo Onchi?s Warabi no
kou. Mr. Ueda previously attended the BKKIFF in 2004 as one of the guest speakers in its first edition of Cinematographer?s Day, but the 2006 event will be the first time that his expertise in the field is celebrated in full.

?Asian Eyes?, a special half-day segment of the seminar programme, is conceived as a response to the recent cinematographic achievement in Asian films such as South Korea?s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Thailand?s Citizen Dog. These meticulously-crafted works have become signature
for the new current in Asian cinema which is gaining more and more influences in the global scale.