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Kawase Naomi Takes Cannes Grand Prix | May 27, 2007 |
 Kawase Naomi (37) is the first Japanese in 17 years to take the Grand Prix at Cannes. "Mogari no Mori" (The Mourning Forest) was announced as the runner-up at the 60th Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. "Making film is so tough and resembles life," said a tearful Kawase at the awards ceremony. "There are many difficulties in life. Invisible things, the memory of the deceased... we can stand alone when we find ourselves to be supported by such things. Thank you very much for appreciating the movie." Her latest film is about a man with dementia (Uda Shigeki) living in a small retirement home and a female caregiver (Ono Machiko) who lost her child. Together they wander in a forest seeking his wife's grave. The film was shot in a small town and the mountains near Kawase's hometown of Nara and captures some of the surviving natural beauty of Japan. The festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, went to the pre-announcement favorite, Romanian film "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days". Kawase has won at Cannes before - she was the youngest ever director to win the Camera d'Or award for best debut film with "Moe no Suzaku" in 1997. The last Japanese film to win the Grand Prix was Oguri Kouhei's "Shi no Toge" in 1990.
• Veteran comedian Hagimoto Kinichi is to be the oldest ever celebrity to do the 100km run for NTV's annual charity telethon. Having just turned 66, he will be seven years older than lawyer Maruyama Kazuya was when he completed the run in 2005. He told fellow comedian Shimada Shinsuke on a live variety show, "I told them I can't run, but I'd do it anyway. I'll just grit my teeth and run." "Kin-chan", as he is affectionately known, was the first ever emcee for the telethon 30 years ago. These days he is most often seen in his role as manager of the Ibaraki Golden Golds amateur baseball team.
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