[ chairperson of the jury ] NOGAMI Teruyo (Japan / former Kurosawa Production Co. production manager) Born in 1927 in Tokyo. Worked as a magazine reporte after WWII then became a script/continuity assistant for Daiei's Kyoto studio, where she first met director KUROSAWA Akira in 1950 on the set of "Rashomon." Subsequently joined Toho where she worked on all of KUROSAWA's films from "Ikiru" (52) onward. Won the Yomiuri Women's Human Documentary Excellence Award and the Yamaji Fumiko Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984 for her book "Requiem for a Father," which was adapted into the film "Kabei - Our Mother" (08, dir: YAMADA Yoji). Other published works include "Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa" (now available in English) and "Tokage no Shippo - Totte oki Eiga no Hanashi." Actively facilitated interaction between KUROSAWA and filmmakers from around the world, and continues to be active internationally. Tony LEUNG Ka-fai (Hong Kong / Actor) Born in Hong Kong in 1958. Was discovered by director LI Han-hsiang and debuted with a leading role in "Reign Behind the Curtain" (83), receiving Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Subsequently starred in numerous films and won Best Actor at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards for "Farewell China" (90, dir: Clara LAW), confirming his status as a top star with excellent acting skills. Gained international fame for his appearance in Jean-Jacques ANNAUD's "The Lover" (92). Got his third Best Actor trophy at the Hong Kong Film Awards for "Election" in 2006. Appears in many different types of films, and is also active in China. Acted in and produced YU Lik-wai's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (99), which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival (and also screened at TOKYO FILMeX 2000). In 2007 two films in which he appeared, "The Drummer" and "Eye in the Sky," were screened at TOKYO FILMeX. Other notable works include "Center Stage" (92), "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father" (93), "Rose, Rose I Love You" (93), "Ashes of Time" (94), "The Christ of Nanking" (95) and "Zhou Yu's Train" (02). SONG Il-gon (Korea / Film Director) Born in 1971 in Seoul. On graduation from the Seoul Institute of the Arts, studied at the National Higher School of Film, Television and Theater in Lodz, Poland. In 1999, short film "The Picnic" won the Grand Jury Prize in the Short Film Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2001 directed his first full-length feature "Flower Island," shot on digital video, which following its screening in the Cinema of the Present section at the Venice Film Festival took top prize at the Pusan International Film Festival and TOKYO FILMeX. Also appeared as actor in "A Smile"(03) directed by PARK Kyung-hee. "Spider Forest"(04) and "Magicians"(05) were screened at TOKYO FILMeX 2004 and 2005, followed by their theatrical release in Japan. Isabelle REGNIER (France / Journalist, Film Critic) Journalist and film critic for the French newspaper Le Monde, and engages in various other publications. She has written articles on the movie business for Cahiers du cinema and covered Cannes Film Festival for the Vogue website. As a film critic, she also appears in "Plein Cadre," a weekly show on the French TV channel Cine Cinema. She has contributed to Jacques ROZEIER, Le Funambule, a collective book on the French filmmaker (published by Cahiers du cinema). She has written a biography of Tex AVERY (to be published by Cahiers du cinema), and is currently working on a book on film production (also to be published by Cahiers du cinema). Leon CAKOFF (Brazil / Sao Paulo International Film Festival President) Active as a film critic, director and producer, and also as president of the Sao Paulo International Film Festival which he founded in 1977 while programming director of the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo. Also established a cinema chain that screens both major and art films. Author and editor of several books on film directors including Aleksandr SOKUROV, OZU Yasujiro, Abbas KIAROSTAMI and Manoel de OLIVEIRA. Director of short film “Come Back Always, Abbas,” which screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1999. Apart from “Welcome to Sao Paolo,” he also produced the 2005 feature film project “Invisible World” that includes Manoel de OLIVEIRA 's short film “From Visible to Invisible,” which screened at this year's Venice Film Festival.