Tao Okamoto Makes History as First Japanese Actress to Win Best Actress at Cannes
Japanese actress Tao Okamoto has made history after winning the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, becoming the first Japanese performer to receive the honour.
Okamoto shared the award with Belgian-French actress Virginie Efira for their performances in All of a Sudden (Soudain), a film directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The emotional drama follows a theatre director battling cancer, played by Okamoto, and a care facility director, played by Efira, whose lives unexpectedly intertwine as they form a deep and transformative friendship.
The film is scheduled to premiere in Japan on June 19 and is adapted from a collection of letters about illness and mortality exchanged between a philosopher and an anthropologist.
On stage at the award ceremony, held in Cannes overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, both actresses embraced as they received the prize, visibly moved by the recognition.
Okamoto thanked director Hamaguchi for his “love and respect” throughout the production, saying the award was beyond anything she had ever imagined.
Before her acting breakthrough, Okamoto worked as a fashion model and later gained international attention in the 2013 Hollywood film The Wolverine.
Efira, who began her career as a television presenter before transitioning into acting, also described the film as a deeply emotional and unforgettable experience, highlighting the strong creative connection on set.
Director Hamaguchi praised both actresses, saying they brought their characters to life with extraordinary depth, almost as if they were channeling the emotions of the original authors of the source material.
Elsewhere at the festival, the prestigious Palme d’Or was awarded to Romanian director Cristian Mungiu for his film Fjord, a story about a Romanian-Norwegian couple adjusting to life in a rural village and building unexpected bonds with their neighbours.
Hamaguchi, who previously won Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2021 and later earned international acclaim for Drive My Car, continues to strengthen his reputation as one of Japan’s most influential contemporary filmmakers.
Other notable entries from Japanese directors, including Hirokazu Koreeda’s Sheep in the Box and Koji Fukada’s Nagi Notes, were also in competition but did not secure awards this year.
