Cate Blanchett accepts award in Tokyo: “Doubt is the starting point of my art”

In an uncertain world filled with unthinking certainty, Cate Blanchett chooses to talk about doubt.On October 28, the two-time Oscar-winning actor received the Japan World Culture Award in Tokyo; at the press conference before the award, she said that doubt is crucial to creation because it promotes challenge, questioning and exploration, and also allows people to dialogue, establish connections and make changes.

The award ceremony was held at the Meiji Memorial Hall in Moto Akasaka, Tokyo, and Princess Hitachi Princess Hanako presented the medal to her.The World Culture Prize is awarded by the Japan Art Association to recognize lifetime achievements in the five fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theater and film. It is often called the Nobel Prize in the art world.Each winner will also receive a letter of commendation and a bonus of 15 million yen, which is approximately less than 100,000 US dollars.

Previous winners in the dramatic film category include Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench and Catherine Deneuve.Ang Lee won the award in 2024 and is Blanchett's latest winner in this field with close ties to Hollywood.This year’s other four winners are American artist Jenny Holzer, British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, American architect Daniel Libeskind and Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt.

Blanchett mentioned Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington at the beginning of her acceptance speech, and then talked about the boundaries between performance and language.She describes performances that can be bogged down in literalness at their worst and leave people speechless at their best.For her, those mysterious gaps between what a character says and what they cannot express are often where the work begins.

“I'm always looking for meaning, for opportunity, between the words that are said, in the words that are not said, in what people are trying to say, in what they wish they had said or wish they had not said.”

She said that she always doubted whether she could fully convey what she wanted to express.As a woman, this doubt is often understood as a lack of self-confidence, but she does not agree with this judgment: “That doubt is the starting point of my art.It allows me to hear, see, and feel.” Taking long-term artistic risks requires courage and rigor, and she also sees these qualities in the winners of the same year.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also attended the press conference.She serves as the American international advisor for the award, and her international advisory network recommends candidates through a committee, which is ultimately selected by the Japan Art Association.Clinton said that this award declares on a global scale that artists and culture are important pillars of society; this role is even more important at a time when democratic values ​​are threatened and artificial intelligence is causing anxiety.

She also called for supporting the arts in the face of the changes brought about by artificial intelligence, controlling related technical risks, while retaining human imagination and the ability to connect with each other.

Blanchett's Japan itinerary also includes the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs until November 4.As scheduled, on October 30, she will participate in a Q&A with Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahbanu Sadat after the Japanese premiere of five short films.The shorts are supported by the Displacement Film Fund, which she co-founded and directs to help displaced filmmakers.

Later that same day, she is scheduled to attend a networking event with David Zellner and Nathan Zellner for Alpha Gang, the alien comedy in which she stars.

Talking about this award, Blanchett said that she was deeply grateful and compared this honor to Mount Olympus, which she had never imagined she could touch: "This is a beautiful, soul-lifting surprise, and a deep honor."%