Akira Kurosawa tribute at the 30th Premiere Nights

The 30th Athens International Film Festival’s 30th Anniversary Premiere Nights presents for the first time in Greece a tribute to the Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa.

On the occasion of the 30th birthday of the festival institution, the tribute coincides with the “2024: Japan-Greece Year of Culture and Tourism”, supported by the Embassy of Japan in Greece.

Akira Kurosawa was a revolutionary master of camera, movement and colour, a brilliant thinker of the modern human condition, a philosopher of the relationship between cultures and the sweeping impact of history.

Known for his masterful storytelling, innovative use of camera techniques, and deep exploration of human nature, his works like Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru, and Yojimbo have left an indelible mark on both Japanese and global cinema. His films often blend elements of drama, action, and philosophical inquiry, and he is celebrated for his ability to create compelling narratives that resonate universally. Kurosawa’s work has inspired countless filmmakers around the world.

The admittedly “westernized” of the great Japanese school, he influenced 20th century cinema as few others have, stood as a reference point and constant inspiration for the world’s greatest big-screen filmmakers, and universally translated an unparalleled humanism, delivering an expansive yet so prosaic filmography, with a deep concern for the human condition, for all that could make us a better species.

Athens International Film Festival’s Night of Premieres tribute entitled “Akira Kurosawa: all the pretty and the blood” will present to the audience – in their most complete and most impressive restoration – 13 iconic creations, which are timelessly placed among the most enduring masterpieces of cinema. Among them are the movie “Seven Samurai”, which we will have the opportunity to see in Greece for the first time in its complete version and the recent 4K treatment with which it is currently being shown in the rest of the world.

All the movies of the tribute

RASHOMON (1950, 88’)
THE IDIOT | HAKUCHI (1951, 166’)
DOOMED | IKIRU (1952, 143’)
SEVEN SAMURAI | SHICHININ NO SAMURAI (1954, 207’)
THRONE OF BLOOD | KUMONOSU-J (1957, 110’)
KAKUSHI TORIDE NO SAN AKUNIN (1958, 139’)
THE BAD SLEEP WELL | WARUI YATSU HODO YOKU NEMURU (1960, 151’)
YOJIMBO (1961, 110’)
HIGH AND LOW | TENGOKU TO JIGOKU (1963, 143’)
RED BEARD | AKAHIGE (1965, 185’)
DODES’KA-DEN (1970, 140’)
RAN (1985, 162’)
DREAMS | YUME (1990, 119’)

The full programme of the 30th Athens Premiere Nights will be announced on Wednesday 25 September 2024. The venues that will host this year’s event are: DANAOS I & II, CINOBO OPERA I & II, ASTROR, ASTY, ATHENS MUSIC CENTRE and PALACE.