- Features Leading Actor KATAOKA Ainosuke and SAMURAI Award Honorees John WOO and Yoji YAMADA -

Leading kabuki actor KATAOKA Ainosuke thrilled the audience at Tokyo's historic Kabukiza theatre with a performance of Goro in the Rain, kicking off the Tokyo International Film Festival's Special Night Event at Kabukiza Theatre. His performance was followed by a ceremony to present the 2nd SAMURAI Award to this year's recipients, John WOO and Yoji YAMADA. After the honorees received the crystal statuettes and made brief remarks, they were all joined onstage by surprise guests: actress Sayuri YOSHINAGA and director Keishi OTOMO. There followed a special screening of Akira KUROSAWA's kabuki-set prewar masterpiece "They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail."

- Date and Time: Mon., October 26, 5:30 pm

- Venue: Kabukiza Theatre

- Appearance: KATAOKA Ainosuke (Kabuki actor), John WOO, (Director), Yoji YAMADA (Director),

Special Guests: Sayuri YOSHINAGA (Actress) and Keishi OTOMO (Director)

Notes and quotes:

John Woo

"I'm incredibly excited to be here tonight, receiving the SAMURAI Award with a great master I greatly respect, Mr. Yamada. His films are filled with love and humanity, which is what makes cinema loved around the world. This is the humanity that made me fall in love with movies and decide to devote my life to making them. Japan has had so many great directors, writers and actors, and their work has always influenced me. Thank you to the festival, and to my friends who have supported me all these years."

Yoji Yamada

"I've been a part of the Tokyo International Film Festival from the very beginning, and my film 'The Yellow Handkerchief' was shown in the first edition. It makes me so happy and honored to receive the Samurai Award here tonight."

KATAOKA Ainosuke

"I am going to do the season's first performance in 'Kanjincho' in Kyoto, which is the story that tonight's Kurosawa's film, is based on. As an actor, it was a great honor tonight to perform at the event with Kurosawa's film in Tokyo International Film Festival. I will continue to do my best as a kabuki actor as well as in other roles."