Ang Lee honored in Japan as 1st Taiwanese Praemium Imperiale laureate

Tokyo, Nov. 20 (CNA) Filmmaker Ang Lee (李安) was honored as the first Taiwanese laureate of the 2024 Praemium Imperiale, a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association, for promoting "the cultures and arts of the world" at an award ceremony in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Lee, who has won two Oscars for best director, and four others also being honored by the Japan Art Association, each received a medal from Princess Hitachi at the ceremony.

"Japanese cinema has a long history of cultural influence, especially for Asian filmmakers and I'm no exception. As the first person from Taiwan to receive this award, I'm proud and deeply grateful," Lee said during a news conference in Tokyo held on Monday.

"Theater is like a temple for me and a movie is a ritual through which we hold a mirror up to our lives and hope to touch the truth.

"I'd like to think that my career is a never-ending school, where I learn about cinema and about myself and about the world. There is no end to that learning," the Taiwan-born filmmaker said.

Lee was honored in the theater/film category in the 35th edition of the award ceremony. It is widely considered Japan's arts equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

He first won an Oscar when "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (臥虎藏龍) was named best foreign film in 2000, and then the two best director awards for "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005 and "Life of Pi" in 2012.

This year's laureates also include French conceptual artist Sophie Galle in the painting category, Columbian artist Doris Salcedo in sculpture, Voluntary Architects' Network founder Shigeru Ban from Japan in architecture, and Portugal-born pianist Maria João Pires in music.

During the ceremony Tuesday, Princess Hitachi said the arts are crucial for bringing people together, enriching lives and consoling those caught up in conflicts.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the Japan Art Association aims to promote world peace through the arts, a wish of the late Prince Takamatsu who served as the honorary patron of the association for 58 years until early 1987.

On the sidelines of Tuesday's ceremony, Lee told reporters that Asian voices are important in the film industry when fewer people are going to cinemas, news website Japan Forward reported on Wednesday.

"We need to cherish our cultural heritage and speak up in cinema," he said.

The Praemium Imperiale prize was established in 1988 when the Japan Art Association marked its centennial and in honor of the late Prince Takamatsu who died the previous year. Prince Hitachi was installed to succeed his role as the honorary patron.

Six artists "who transcend national and ethnic boundaries" with their "exceptional achievements," including Chinese American Architect Ieoh Ming Pei (貝聿銘), French film director Marcel Carné, and painters Willem de Kooning and David Hockney received the first edition of the prize in 1989.